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A Manual for Soul-Winners 


By 


PAu, EE.’ KRETZMANN, PH. D., D.D. 
St. Louis, Mo. 


St. Louris, Mo. 
CONCORDIA PUBLISHING HOUSE 
1926 


Un eS 














While It Is Day. John 9, 4. 


, Let us work while it is day, 
Let us labor while we may! 
Soon will come the night of death 
When we yield our final breath. 
Let us work for Christ, the Lord, 
Bear aloft His mighty Word! 


Let us work without restraint, 
Never weary, lax, or faint; 

Firm in battling selfishness, 

Loyal in true faithfulness, 

Place our strength at His command, 
Do His work throughout the land! 


Let us work while yet we may! 
Soon will come that glorious day 
When our labor here is done, 
When the precious prize is won, 
When we rest and take our ease 
In the homes of endless peace! 


(Knowing and Doing, p. 82.) 








UPL UE UE SUE Ue SUE ie vee ie Ue ieee 








FOREWORD. 


In these days of spiritual and moral decay the ques- 
tion is often asked, ‘“What’s wrong with the Church?” 
And this question, while often presented by those who 
have never given the Church a fair trial, is, in a gen- 
eral way, warranted; for there is no institution in the 
entire world that can do so much good and has such 
high and holy responsibilities as the Church. Where 
else shall the world turn, which is so torn by doubt and 
fear? Where else, if not to the Church with its saving 
Gospel, the only message of hope? Yes, the world is 
sick, and the Church has the only remedy that can cure 
its ills. : 

And in these days when the battle between Chris- 
tianity and the world is becoming harder and harder 
and the line of demarcation separating the two is be- 
coming more and more indistinct; when worldliness is 
making such terrible inroads in the Church; when love 
is becoming cold and indifference and laxity are paralyz- 
ing Christian activities; when, as the Savior predicted, 
there are all the indications that the world’s destruc- 
tion is near, — in this our evil time, what does the 
Church itself need more than a deeper appreciation for 
the Gospel and a reconsecration to the spreading of this 
Gospel? The need in our Church is not, primarily, © 
more men and means, nor more churches and members, 
but congregations filled with a greater soul-winning 
spirit, members with a deeper passion for blood-bought 
souls, members, we repeat, who realize that an actually 
overwhelming responsibility rests upon them and that 
their sacred and supreme duty in this world is to 
testify for Christ by word and deed and thus to help 
save souls. 

While we have heard it stated again and again — 
and it is also brought out in this volume — that two- 
thirds of the world, or nearly a thousand million souls, 
do not know Jesus, the Savior, we fail to work as de- 
terminedly and self-sacrificingly as we should to bring 
our fellow-sinners the tidings of salvation. The great 
commission, “Go ye into all the world and preach the 
Gospel to every creature,” often remains unfulfilled. 
Yet all our church- and school-work has this one object 
in view, this goal—to help save souls. 

Many and ever more soul-winners — that is the need 
of the hour! When our members have caught the soul- 


Ube) bap ae 


saving spirit, and when their hearts are set on fire to 
save men, greater advancements will be made in our 
mission-fields here and abroad. There will be a larger 
outpouring of gifts, a self-sacrificing stewardship. Our 
members will not be satisfied with giving merely part 
of their time, spare change, and to make half-hearted 
efforts, but they will give the best of their time, the 
best of their money, and put their whole heart and soul 
into the great work. And then there will be a solution 
to $0 many discouraging church problems. The Church 
will grow inwardly and outwardly as never before. 

Is it necessary to point out that our young people, 
the future leaders of the Church, should be in the very 
front ranks of the Church’s missionary crusade? In- 
deed, young and old should consider it the highest privi- 
lege to be colaborers with God in the work of salvation 
of men through Jesus Christ. But our youth must lead. 
In this spirit the leaders of the Walther League at the 
Detroit Convention proposed the so-called systematic 
mission endeavor. This is merely a united and organ- 
ized effort of the young people, under the direction of 
their pastors, to lead others to the Savior and His 
Church. The plan was most whole-heartedly endorsed 
by succeeding conventions. The endeavor, which is 
gaining in favor, has already wrought untold blessings 
for ‘the Church in deepening the spirituality of the young | 
people. 

Realizing that the young people, while taking an 
active part, can only assist the pastors and congrega- 
tions, the scope of While It Is Day! was widened to 
be of direct use to all congregations of the entire 
Church and for all individual members, young and old. 
It covers all practical phases; and where detailed in- 
» formation is not given, there are enough suggestions to 
help any judicious leader. While It Is Day! is also to 
serve as a text-book, and it is suggested that the various 
studies be taken up systematically in regular classes 
during six-to-eight-week periods. The spirit of a united 
mission endeavor is well expressed in the title While It 
Is Day! There is no time to be lost. Every hour and 
every minute men are perishing without the saving 
Gospel. “The night cometh when no man can work”; 


ba . <n ys ” 
so let us labor “while it is day. P. G. Proxopy. 


TABLE OF CONTENTS. 


PAGE 


Chapter I. Go Ye! Matt.28,19. The Divine Com- 
EIA Ses Tad CUR, ota, Care oh, AEN MIAER, Gio] ose aes Mig ayaa a ese fo eg 's 
Chapter II. -I Delight to Do Thy Will! Ps. 40, 8. 
The Obligation of Love ........... Pe ici ites 
Chapter III. Workers Together with Him! 2 Cor. 
6,1. The: Biblical Precept and Example ...... 
Chapter IV. Zealously Affected in a Good Thing! 
Gal. 4,18. Qualifications of the Workers ...... 
Chapter V: The Time Is Short! 1 Cor. 7, 29. 
SPeeAIANADIN TOT Gey LOT. vy balqccs eine <hr tres oes 
Chapter VI. Because of His Importunity! Luke 
11,8. The Need and Power of Prayer ........ 
Chapter VII. I Am Persuaded! Rom. 8,38. Hav- 
ing the Courage of One’s Convictions ......... 
Chapter VIII. By All Means Save Some! 1 Cor. 
9; 22. ,Meeting the Unchurched ............%. 
Chapter IX. Patient Toward All Men! 1 Thess. 
5,14. Meeting Objections of the Wrongly In- 
RSE MND eX a Sobdsn ts on didirere «We ayethes otal dl bes 
Chapter X. I Will Seek That which was Lost! 
PCE lO pe VADVASSING 62. Le i kee sees 
Chapter XI. Let Us Not Be Weary! Gal. 6, 9. 
RUPEE LES ia ete chs. og «0s Aine Dio Wik iecal a 
Chapter XII. Feed My Lambs! John 21, 15. 
Founding and Conducting a Sunday-school . 


ha | 


18 


31 


41 


88 


100 


113 


126 


. 135 


Trot 6 Of 
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CEA Ero, 
Go Ye! Matt. 28, 19. 


The Divine Commission. 


It is God’s prerogative to have people come to 
Him, and His invitation is extended to all men in 
a serious, efficacious call. 

“Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy 
laden, and I will give you rest!” Matt. 11, 28. 

“Look unto Me and be ye saved, all the ends of 
the earth.” Is. 45, 22. 

“Come, for all things are now ready.” _ Luke 
14, 1%. | \ elie! i 

“And the Spirit and the bride say, Come! And 
let him that heareth say, Come! And let him that is 
athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the 
water of life freely.” Rev. 22, 17. 

But to make known this glorious intention sa 
invitation to men God has commissioned His chil- 
dren, the believers, throughout the world. They are 
to be His representatives; they are to be His mes- 
sengers, His ambassadors; they are to be His agents 
in making known His call of salvation, in inviting 
men to the feast of His love and grace. 

Even in Old Testament times this was true. To 
His Zion, to the members of His Church under the 
Old Dispensation, the Lord calls out: — 

“QO Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up 
into a high mountain! O Jerusalem, that bringest 
good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it 


SBI > 5 uly 


up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Be- 
hold your God!”. Is. 40, 9. 

But still more direct, still more unmistakable and 
powerful, is the Lord’s commission to the New Testa- 
ment Church and to all its members: — 

“GO YE THEREFORE AND TEAOH ALL 
NATIONS; BAPTIZING THEM IN THE NAME 
OF THE FATHER AND OF THE SON AND © 
OF THE HOLY GHOST; TEACHING THEM 
TO OBSERVE ALL THINGS WHATSOEVER 
I HAVE COMMANDED YOU.” Matt. 28, 19. 20. 

“Go ye!” He says. 

“Bring My sons from far and My daughters tia 
the ends of the earth!” Is. 48, 6. 

“Ye shall be witnesses unto Me both in Jerusa- 
lem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the 
uttermost part of the earth.” Acts1, 8. 

It is not enough that we build churches and 
chapels and have free pews for all who desire to 
come; it is not enough that we erect bulletin-boards 
and announcement-boards in front of our churches, 
at street intersections, and in other public places; it 
is not enough that we publish parish-papers and 
pulpit programs; it is not enough that we advertise 
in the newspapers on Saturdays and upon all special 
occasions. All this is good and laudable; all this 
means carrying out a part of the work which is ours 
to do; all this may reach souls that are in need of 
the message of salvation; all this may bring some 
into the fold. 

“GO!” means personal work, if possible work in 
person, by direct personal contact; it means seeing 
that work is done and carrying out the work in per- 
son, if possible, or attending to its performance in 
person, if it must be done through others. 


a peal 


“Go ye also into the vineyard!” Matt. 20, 4. 7. 
‘That is the Lord’s commission. It might be done by 
proxy, of course; but where does a person do his 
own work, which is entrusted to him, by proxy, un- 
less it be, perhaps, under his own direct, personal 
supervision? — 

And there is more to be considered. The Bride- 
groom, Christ, is sending His friends to win the 
bride, the believers, whom He wants with Him in the 
enjoyment of the eternal bliss of heaven. St. Paul 
says of his own work in winning souls for Christ : — 

“T have espoused you to one Husband that I may 
present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.” 2 Cor. 
11,2. And John the Baptist testified: — 

“The friend of the Bridegroom, which standeth 
and heareth Him, rejoiceth greatly because of the 
Bridegroom’s voice. This my joy therefore is ful- 
filled.” John 3,29. John, like Paul, did his work for 
Christ in person; he gained souls by personal work. 
It is the way we ought to choose as we have oppor- 
tunity and in accordance with the method of work- 
ing set forth by God in His Holy Word. 

“Go YE!” says Christ. The commission is not 
confined to the apostles. They, indeed, are the 
teachers of the whole world until the end of time. 
Through their word others are to believe on Jesus 
Christ, the Savior of the world. John 17, 20. 

“Go YE!” is not addressed to trained pastors and 
missionaries only, although to them is committed the 
task of public preaching. It was a little servant girl, 
a slave whose name is not even mentioned in the 
Bible, who called the attention of Naaman’s wife to 
the prophet of Jehovah in Israel. 2 Kings 5,3. It 
was the untrained fisherman, Andrew, who told his 
brother Simon about the Messiah, John 1, 41, and 


padi PVus ee 


whose example was followed by Philip in speaking to 
Nathanael. John 1, 45. 

“Go ye INTO ALL THE WORLD!” is the 
Savior’s commission. The world is big and wide, 
and there are still more than twice as many without 
the knowledge of Christ as there are, even nominally, 
within the pale of the Church. Into many of the 
heathen lands the messengers of the Gospel have 
gone. Into some of the heathen lands some of our 
own messengers are gone —alas! into all too few. 
There never was a truer answer given than that 
turned in by a young Christian, the question being: 
How many missionaries have we in India and 
China? He said, with wonderful frankness: “NOT 
ENOUGH!” 

Yes, NOT ENOUGH! We have not reached 
nearly all lands of the world. We have made but 
a feeble, an all too feeble, beginning. 

Somehow we do not seem to realize the misery of 
the untold millions that are “without God in the 
world.” Eph. 2,12. Perhaps if they were living 
across the street from us and we had the picture of 
their misery and their idolatry and their vileness 
before our eyes every day, our hearts would be 
stirred to a greater effort in their behalf, and we 
might accomplish more in our foreign mission en- 
deavor. 

We smoothly speak of teeming masses, of millions still 
in darkest night; 

We glibly pray that those in blindness be given spiritual 
sight ; 

We seat about our mission duty and of the missionary 
need: 

But what would you do, and what would I do, 


IF CHINA WERE ACROSS THE STREET? 


Me a pie 


We say that we are interested when now and then we 
hear a talk 

Of how the heathen hosts are living and in the fiercest 
horrors walk, 

How they are kept the truth from learning, their 
leaders empty husks them feed: 

But what would you do, and what would I do, 


IF INDIA WERE ACROSS THE STREET? 


We feel that we have done our duty when we just 
sometimes give a mite, 

When from the riches of our treasures we now and then 
deal out a bite; . 

We spend our billions for vain baubles, for luxuries 
we do not need: 

But what would you do, and what would I do, 

WITH AFRICA ACROSS THE STREET? 
* * * 

Oh, may the love of Christ constrain us to see our 
mission duty through, 

That we be filled with burning fervor, that less we talk 
and more we do, 

That we no longer speak of burdens, but lift the misery 
untold, 

THAT ALL OUR LIFE BE SPENT IN BRINGING 
MORE SOULS INTO THE SAVIOR’S FOLD. 


It is absolutely necessary that we get this better 
viewpoint, that we begin to think of our missionary 
duty in terms of direct contact, that we visualize the 
spiritual needs of those who are still children of 
wrath without being conscious of that fact. 

“INTO ALL THE WORLD!” Not only the 
foreign countries, but also the home field, the coun- 
try in which we live! 

If you cannot cross the ocean 
And the heathen lands explore, 


You can find the heathen nearer, 
You can help them at your door! 


ae ip Pee 


Ah, yes; millions of them, in the very midst of 
Christianity and civilization! 

Do you know whether your nearest neighbors are 
members of a Christian Church? Have you ever 
inquired whether the people across the street know 
anything about the Savior and the way of salvation ? 

Have you ever considered that thousands of us — 
who are sitting at the full tables of God’s riches in > 
Christ Jesus as we have them in our dear Lutheran 
Church have done little or nothing to bring the 
Gospel of God’s mercy to men and women and chil- 
dren in our own neighborhood ? 

Shall we, whose souls are lighted 
With wisdom from on high, 
Shall we to men benighted 

The lamp of life deny? 

Shall we do so by failing to make an earnest 
effort to reach them by going and inviting them to 
partake of the riches earned also for them by 
Christ’s atoning work? 

“PREACH THE GOSPEL!” That is the means 
committed to us for the winning of blood-bought 
souls, the means by which the grace of God is to be 
brought to the attention of men and to be made alive 
in their hearts. 

Not the so-called Gospel of social service, of 
which we hear so much in our days; not the message 
of present-worldliness, with its ery of: Save the 
people for this world! It is true that the highest 
forms of social blessings have come to men with 
Christianity, and that practically every real advance 
in the world in the last nineteen centuries proceeded 
from Christianity or is connected with the Christian 
religion. But that is the effect of the soul-changing 
power of the Gospel of Christ, a power which is so 


aa epe 


great that it influences not only those who actually 
confess Christianity and live in accordance with its 
high ideals, but that it exerts a purging and beauti- 
fying impulse also on others who come in contact 
with its monuments. 

The Gospel which we are to bring to men is a 
power of God unto salvation because it is the mes- 
sage of the free grace and merey of God in Christ 
Jesus, the one and only Savior of mankind, who in 
our stead and for our redemption came down from: 
heaven, was incarnate of the Holy Ghost by the 
Virgin Mary, and gave His life as a ransom for man- 
kind when He died on the cross. It is the message 
of the forgiveness of sins for the sake of Jesus that 
is the essence of the Gospel. And that is the Gospel 
which we are bending our efforts to bring to all men 
everywhere. 

“TO EVERY CREATURE,” “TO ALL NA- 
TIONS!” To every member of this lost and con- 
demned mankind! ‘To rich and poor, to old and 
young, to the socially prominent and to the outcast 
of human society, to the capitalist and to the work- 
ingman — to all men this message is to be brought. 

“God will have all men to be saved and to come 
unto the knowledge of the truth.” 1 Tim. 2, 4. 

Having made disciples of men wherever we find 
them, in palace and in hovel, and having brought 
them to Christ by the Sacrament of Baptism, we are 
to extend our initial work by teaching them to ob- 
serve all things whatsoever He has commanded us. 
There is no end, no limit, to the possibilities of our 
evangelistic work on this side of the grave. The 
more we work, the greater are the possibilities and 
.the greater the opportunities for service. 


ah Ph ee 


Do you know what place such soul-winning has 
in the eyes of God? 

The whole machinery of redemption was set in 
motion by Him because of it. Even in the Old 
Testament He says, time and again, that He is the 
Savior of His people. 

“God, their Savior, which had done great things 
in Egypt.” Ps. 106, 21. 

“T am the Lord, thy God, the Holy One of Israel, 
thy Savior.” Is. 48, 3. | 

“Verily, Thou art a God that hidest Thyself, 
O God of Israel, the Savior.” Is. 45, 15. 

“There is no God else beside Me, a just God and 
a Savior; there is none beside Me.” Is. 45, 21. 

“All flesh shall know that I, the Lord,-am thy 
Savior and thy Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.” — 
Is. 49, 26. 

“Thou shalt know that I, the Lord, am thy Savior 
and thy Redeemer.” Is. 60, 16. 

“For He said, Surely they are My people, chil- 
dren that will not le: so He was their Savior.” 
Is. 63, 8. 

And has not the New Testament fully borne out 
the promise and the prophecy of the Old? Is not the 
thought of the salvation of mankind on the basis of 
the love and merey of God the central theme in 
every book given to men in the New Dispensation ? 

“My spirit hath rejoiced in God, my Savior.” 
Luke 1, 47. 

“Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the com- 
mandment of God, our Savior, and Lord Jesus 
Christ, which is our Hope.” 1 Tim.1,1. 

“We trust in the living God, who is the Savior 
of all men.” 1 Tim. 4, 10. | 

“God hath in due times manifested His Word, 


as Bes. 


through preaching, which is committed unto me ac- 
cording to the commandment of God, our Savior.” 
Titus 1, 3. 

“That they may adorn the doctrine of God, our 
Savior, in all things.” Titus 2, 10. 

“To the only wise God, our Savior, be glory and 
majesty, dominion and power, both now and for- 
ever!” Jude 25. 

Do you want further evidence of the importance 
of soul-winning as God sees it? Not only does His 
own name indicate His desire for the salvation of 
men, but He so states it in words of unmistakable 
emphasis. 

“Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked 
should die? saith the Lord God, and not that he 
should return from his ways and live?” Ezek. 18, 23. 

“God will have all men to be saved and to come 
unto the knowledge of the truth.” 1 Tim. 2, 4. 

“The Lord is not willing that any should perish, 
but that all should come to repentance.” 2 Pet. 3, 9. 

Do you need still more information to convince 
you of the interest that God takes in saving men 
from their sins? Can there be a greater proof than 
that He sent His only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to 
accomplish the salvation of all mankind? 

“We have seen and do testify that the Father 
sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.” 1 John 
4, 14. 

“When the fulness of the time was come, God 
sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under 
the Law, to redeem them that were under the Law.” 
Gal. 4, 4. 

“God so loved the world that He gave His only- 
begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him 


ae Fg 


should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 
3, 16. 

Is it a wonder, with such facts from the Bible 
before them, that some of the foremost workers for 
Christ felt constrained to go and measure up, in 
some degree, to the expectation of God? ; 

It was Carey who declared that we must “expect | 
great things from God,” and that we must “attempt 
great things for God,” and who in the strength of 
Is. 54, 2.8 set out for India. 

It was Allen Gardiner who gave up all prospects 
of becoming wealthy in order to go to the darkest 
part of South America, Tierra del Fuego, and to lay 
down his life with the words before his eyes: “My 
soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation 
is from Him.” Ps. 62, 58. 

It was David Livingstone who refused to aban- 
don his task after Stanley had found him, but reso- 
_ lutely sent the younger man home with the precious 
records of work already accomplished, while he 
turned back to finish alone his great undertaking. 

It was Mary Slessor, of Calabar, who left the 
very coast which served as a station of communica- 
tion with far-away England and went into the in- 
terior to teach more of those people, who reverently 
ealled her “Ma,” the Gospel of salvation. 

It was Theodore Fliedner who did not shrink 
from a discharged female convict, but with this 
woman as the first inmate of his improvised home 
began the work which resulted in the revival of the 
female diaconate. 

It was John Geddie who went to Aneityum, labor- 
ing there with such success that the native Chris- 
tians themselves said of him, “When he landed in 


te 


1848, there were no Christians here; when he left, 
in 1872, there were no heathen.” 

It was Brainerd who declared, “I cared not where 
or how I lived or what hardships I went through, so 
that I could but gain souls for Christ.” 

It was Gregory who stated, “Of all the sacrifices 
there is none in the sight of Almighty God equal to 
zeal for souls.” 


“Go ye unto ev’ry nation!” 

Is the Savior’s great command; 
“Preach the Gospel of salvation 

To all men in ev’ry land; 

Teach them all the glorious message 
That I died to end all strife 

And that death might be the passage 
To the blissful, endless life.” 


°Tis by Jesus’ love and merit 

All men are at peace with God, 
Reassured by His free Spirit, 

Saved from all their guilty load. 
He who trusts in Christ, his Savior, 
Who for all men did atone, 

Will receive the Father’s favor, 
Will be saved by grace alone. 


To the nations most enlightened 

With this world’s progressive lore, 

And to those whose souls are frightened, 
Bound by superstitious lore; 

Those whose god is this world’s mammon 
And those deep in poverty, 

To the rich and the street gamin, 

Comes the call to make them free. 


Let us shout it full of gladness 
Wheresoever men we find; 
Let us drive away all sadness, 
Grief of heart and care of mind; 
Let us tell the wondrous story 
Of the marvel of God’s love, 
Let us magnify His glory 
Till the hardest hearts we move; 
While It Is Day! 2 


ks he 


Till all men of ev’ry station, 

Rich and poor and young and old; 

Till all men of ev’ry nation 

May be brought into the fold; 

Till the Savior’s robe of beauty 

Covers ev’ry guilty stain; 

Till they know their highest duty 

Everlasting life to gain. 

Would you know the motive which prompts such 

a response in the hearts of Christians everywhere? — 
You will find more on this point in the next chapters. 


CHAPTER II. 


I Delight to Do Thy Will! Is. 40, 8. 
The Obligation of Love. 


The divine commission is not an arbitrary com- 
mand; it is not a legal precept issued by God by 
_ virtue of His majesty and power. It is, as a matter 
of fact, addressed to Christians and would have no 
meaning for anybody else. Only he can understand 
this commission and properly act upon it in whose 
heart the Holy Ghost has already wrought a knowl- 
edge of the salvation brought by Christ and revealed 
in His Word. It is a heart of this kind that is ac- 
tuated by the obligation of love resting upon it. 

And how ean it be otherwise, since the Christian 
continually has before his eyes the wonderful picture 
of Christ and the manner in which He carried out 
and satisfied the obligation of love resting upon Him 
by virtue of His own choice? 

For what was the guiding principle of His life 
and work @ 


“THEN SAID I, LO, I COME; IN THE 


VOLUME OF THE BOOK IT IS WRITTEN OF 
ME. I DELIGHT TO DO THY WILL, O MY 
GOD.” Ps. 40, 8. 

These are words of the Messiah, as the writer to 
the Hebrews, chap. 10, 5—7, shows. The Son of God 
had from eternity taken part in the counsel of God 
pertaining to fallen mankind, and He had declared 
His willingness to work the redemption, which none 
but He could accomplish. This attitude is evident 
throughout our Savior’s life. 

“Wist ye not that I must be about My Father’s 
business?” was the half-reproachful question which 
He addressed to His parents when He was taken to 
the festival of the Passover at the age of twelve 
years. Luke 2, 49. 

“I must preach the kingdom of God to other 
cities also, for therefore am I sent,” was His declara- 
tion to those who sought Him for His miracles only. 
Luke 4, 48. 

“I must walk to-day and to-morrow and the day 
following.” Luke 138, 33. 

“IT must work the works of Him that sent Me 
while it is day; the night cometh when no man can 
work.” John 9, 4. 

“From that time forth began Jesus to show unto 
His disciples how that He must go unto Jerusalem, 
and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests 
and scribes, and be killed, and be raised atk the 
third day.” Matt. 16, 21. 

“For I say unto you that this that is written 
must yet be accomplished in Me, And He was reck- 
oned among the transgressors.” Luke 22, 377. 

“Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to My 
Father, and He shall presently give Me more than 
twelve legions of angels?: But how then shall the 


ecb BO ae 


Scriptures be fulfilled that thus it must be?’ Matt. 
26, 538. 54. i 

“Remember how He spake unto you when He was 
yet in Galilee, saying, The Son of Man must be de- 
livered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified 
and the third day rise again.” Luke 24, 7. 

“Ought not Christ to have suffered these things 
and to enter into His glory?” Luke 24, 26. 

“And He said unto them, Thus it is written, and 
thus it behooved Christ to suffer and to rise from the 
dead the third day.” Luke 24, 46. 

Thus we find it all the way through the life of 
Christ, — the “must” of the divine obligation resting 
upon Him. He had placed Himself at the disposal 
of God, and in line with His own eternal will, which 
is at all times in perfect agreement with that of the 
Father, John 5,19, He carried out the plan of re- 
demption. 

What the German hymn-writer Paul Gerhardt 
has the Savior say is true: — 

Yea, Father, yea, most willingly 

Pll bear what Thou commandest; 

My will conforms to Thy decree, 

I do what Thou demandest. — 

O wondrous Love, what hast Thou done! 
The Father offers up His Son, 

The Son, content, descendeth! 

O Love, O Love, how strong art Thou! 

In shroud and grave Thou lay’st Him low 
Whose word the mountains rendeth! 


Where would we and all mankind be if the Savior 
had wavered in His divine determination, if He had 
faltered and shrunk at sight of the cross on which 
His tortured body was to be suspended?! What an 
immeasurable burden of gratitude is laid upon us by 


Se Ore aes 


virtue of His unflinching persistence in the obe- 
dience prompted by His redemptive love! 

Are you looking for still further evidence regard- 
ing the position which soul-winning has in the mind 
of Christ, the one and only Savior of mankind? 
Consider the place it has in His life and work. Re- 
member that His very name indicates the purpose of 
His life and work; for Jesus means “Redeemer, 
Savior.” Matt. 1, 21. 

It is the name given to our Lord throughout the 
New Testament; it is used by the inspired writers 
with an evident feeling of exultation. The very 
angel of the Lord speaks it with a hushed reverence 
when he announces the birth of the Lord: — 

“Unto you is born this day in the city of David 
a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.” Luke 2, 11. 

It is found in the joyful testimony of the Samar- 
itans of Sychar: — 

“Now we believe, not because of thy saving; for 
we have heard Him ourselves and know that this is 
indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world.” John 
4, 42. 

And think of the numerous other passages in 
which the name is blazoned as on a banner to be 
borne before the eyes of the believers, to make them 
realize ever more fully the unspeakable gift of God! 
Read them for yourself: Acts 5, 31; 18, 28; Phil. 
Dee tito. 1, 10: Litns 1,43. 9,:13 +326 399. Ret. 
1,11; 2, 20; 3,2.18; 1 John 4, 14. 

What the name of Jesus indicates, what the an- 
gel’s explanation proclaims, that is emphasized in 
Christ’s earthly mission. No one has said it better, 
no one could express it more definitely than the Lord 
Himself when He says: — 


meg 49 | Sees 


“The Son of Man is come to save that which was 
lost.” Matt.18,11. And again: — 

“The Son of Man is come to seek and to save that 
which was lost.” Luke 19, 10. 

This is also the clear statement of that “Gospel 
in a nutshell,” given in Christ’s own words: — 

“God so loved the world that He gave His only- 
begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him 
should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 
3, 16. 

“These things I say that ye might be saved.” 
John 5, 34. 

“T am the Door; by Me, if any man enter in, He 
shall be saved.” John 10, 9. 

“This is the will of Him that sent Me, that every 
one which seeth the Son and believeth on Him may 
have everlasting life, and I will raise him up at the 
last day.” John 6, 40. 

In the very performance of His miracles our 
Lord’s chief gift was that of the forgiveness of sins 
with its assurance of salvation. ‘To the man sick of 
the palsy He gave, first of all, that wonderful cer- 
tainty : — 

“Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be erie 
thee.” Matt.9,2; Luke 5, 20. 

And when the great sinner knelt at His feet in 
the house of the Pharisee, the most outstanding gift 
of Christ is that which He Himself indicates : — 

“Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are 
many, are forgiven.” Luke 7, 47. 

That this winning of souls for the kingdom of 
God was the object of Christ in all His preaching, in 
all His work, is obvious from the general tone and 
tendency of all His acts and of all His precepts. He 
tells the former demoniac to preach the kingdom of 


God. He summarizes His own invitations in the 
words: “Go out quickly into the streets and lanes, 
highways and hedges, and compel them to come in.” 
As Dr. Pierson says: “The command is one which is 
incarnated in His whole life and is suggested or im- 
plied in the very idea of discipleship: ‘Follow Me, 
and I will make you fishers of men.’ ” 

Do we need further evidence to convince us that 
the obligation of love was the guiding principle of 
the Savior’s life and that the importance of soul- 
winning in His work is the outstanding feature of 
the entire Gospel? If nothing else will impress us, 
we cannot deny the witness of His death upon the 
cross. He Himself says of it: — 

“And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw 
all men unto Me.” John 12, 32. 

Read the account of the gospels, the description 
of the Savior’s crucifixion and of His death on Cal- 
vary. Cp. Luke 23, 32—43. 

The matter is most beautifully put by St. Paul . 
when he writes : — 

“The life which I now live in the flesh I live by 
the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave 
Himself for me.” Gal. 2, 20. 

“Who gave Himself for us that He might redeem 
us from all iniquity and purify unto Himself a pecu- 
liar people.” Titus 2, 14. 

Truly, it is a remarkable topic, and one which 
should duly impress us with the unbounded glory of 
the love of Jesus in His vicarious redemption and 
with the fulness of the love which could cause the 
great Son of God so to humble Himself for our sakes. 

% * * 


But now comes the test for every one of us. As 
St. Paul puts it: — 


ca: Ot aes 


“Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ 
Jesus, who, being in the form of God, thought it not 
robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of 
no reputation and took upon Him the form of a ser- 
vant and was made in the likeness of men; and, 
being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Him- 
self and became obedient unto death, even the death 
of the cross.” Phil. 2, 5—8. 

The mind of Christ was that according to which 
He felt the obligation laid upon Him by His 
Father’s love and His own; it was the mind which 
caused Him to be the great Servant of mankind in 
order to show them the way of salvation. Jesus 
Himself calls our attention to this phase of His 
work : — 

“Whosoever will be great among you, let him be 
your minister; and whosoever will be chief among 
you, let him be your servant; even as the Son of 
Man came, not to be ministered unto, but to minister 
and to give His life a ransom for many.” Matt. 20, 
26—28. 

The obligation of love which rested upon Jesus 
has passed on to us, who bear His name and are filled 
with His Spirit. The wonderful union which has 
been established between Christ and us by virtue of 
the faith that lives in us has given us some of His 
power. Since Christ has made His abode in us, to- 
gether with the Father and the Holy Ghost, we are 
in a position to bear much fruit of the kind which 
He inspires and loves. We are now, as St. Paul 
writes, His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus 
unto good works, which God hath before ordained 
that we should walk in them. Eph. 2, 10. 

In accordance with these facts there is one great 


motto which Christians love to keep before their 
eyes at all times, namely : — 

“The love of Christ constraineth us.” 2 Cor. 5, 14. 

Obviously this is not the constraint of the Law 
and of fear; for “perfect love casteth out fear.” It 
is the urgency and the power of the love which we 
have received in Christ, as an outflow of the divine 
power in Christ, and it is the zeal which now impels 
us forward for love of Christ, in appreciation of the 
boundless merey which we have received. 

Is it necessary to emphasize this point any fur- 
ther? Is the obligation of love brought to our atten- 
tion to-day and with reference to the situation as we 
have it before our eyes in the world? Have we a 
responsibility which we ought to feel with at least 
a small fraction of the fervor and zeal shown to us 
by Christ? 

Oh, the need of the world for the love which we 
alone can bring to men by virtue of the Gospel en- 
trusted to us is still immensely, overwhelmingly 
great. It is not only that men are without Christ, 
in a kind of a neutral situation, but it is that mil- 
lions of them are living in open and shameful oppo- 
sition to Him, children of wrath and heirs of eternal 
damnation. 

_ Here are some of the facts as they are accessible 
to us to-day with regard to the WORLD WITH- 
OUT CHRIST! 

According to the latest available statistics the 
population of India is 320,000,000. Now, if we figure 
all the Protestant societies that are now working in 
that country of teeming millions (and that includes 
not a few whose Christianity is of the very liberal 
kind, not much better than the religion of the 
heathen themselves), we have far fewer than a mil- 


Judy, BRS 


lion baptized Christians (849,500). Even if we 
count all those who are members of the Roman 
Catholic and of the Syrian churches, we have barely 
five million Christians! Barely one and one half per 
cent. of the total population— and the gains that 
are being made are so heart-breakingly small! Does 
our obligation extend to India? 

The situation in Southeastern Asia, including 
Assam, Burma, Siam, the Malay Peninsula, French 
Indo-China, that is, all countries east of India and 
south of China, is as follows. The population, all 
told, is somewhat over 538,000,000. In this great 
mass there are fewer than 100,000 Christians, and 
some sections may be said to be altogether unoccu- 
pied as yet. Not even one-fifth of one per cent. won 
for Christ! 

Next comes the immense country of China, with 
its more than 4,200,000 square miles and its popula- 
tion of 440,000,000. Do you know that here, ALL 
TOLD, the number of communicant Christians has 
not yet reached the 400,000 mark, although 174 so- 
cieties are now at work? The fraction is so infini- 
tesimally small that one hesitates to write it. Entire 
provinces are still without so much as one messenger 
of salvation! 

Japan’s population exceeds 60,000,000, and we 
have read so much about Christian leaders in the 
island empire that we have probably overestimated 
the number of Christians. As a matter of fact, the 
latest statistics give the number of communicant 
members of all Protestant missions as not quite 
200,000. Again a number which is quite dishearten- 
ing in its smallness! 

As we go over to Korea, which has had inter- 
course with the Western World for a matter of only 


— 27 — 


a few years, we find a population of 17,000,000 under 
Japanese rule. Although there are many factors in 
this country which have been found favorable to 
mission-work, yet the number of Protestant Chris- 
tians is below 100,000, or not yet one half of one 
per cent. 

As we next look at the Near East, comprising 
Egypt, Asia Minor (with Armenia and Kurdistan), 
Syria, Palestine, Arabia, Mesopotamia, and Persia, 
the situation is still more depressing. The total 
population of this section of the world is estimated 
at almost 55,000,000. We have here the location of 
the cradle of the human race, the site of the world’s 
greatest ancient empires, the land of the Bible and 
of the Savior. We still have remnants of the Arme- 
nian Church, nominally Christian, in Armenia, there 
‘are many sects of the Greek Orthodox Church and 
one or two of the Roman Catholic Church in this 
section, not to speak of the Coptic Church in Egypt: 
but the number of Christians is at best very small, 
and the number of Protestants is as yet below 20,000. 

Next we consider Africa, the “Dark Continent.” 
Its native population is estimated, with some degree 
of probability, as reaching 150,000,000. In this en- 
tire number there are only three million Protestant 
Christians, and possibly seven million more, who are 
nominally members of the Abyssinian, Coptic, and 

Roman Catholic churches. Again the discrepancy is 
so great that it is appalling. 

Latin America includes Central and South Amer- 
ica, with a total of 85,000,000. Till now hardly more 
than a beginning has been made in bringing the 
Gospel to this mixed population; for, although 
almost all the countries concerned are nominally 
Roman Catholic, yet the number of professed Chris- 


— 28 —. 


tians amounts to only a very small percentage of the 
total, since the workers, all told, amount to barely 
2,500. A moment’s reflection will show the utter in- 
adequacy of the present missionary occupation. 

There are a few spots in Oceania, or in the 
islands of the Pacific, which offer a distinct relief. 
We are here dealing with Malaysia, Melanesia, Mi- 
cronesia, and Polynesia, whose combined population 
is more than 60,000,000. A few islands are entirely 
Christianized, but over ninety-five per cent. of the 
territory is still without the Gospel-message, some 
sections having not even been touched. 

And what shall we say of the unoccupied fields in 
many parts of the world, which stand as a constant 
challenge before the eyes of Christianity? It is the 
“regions beyond” that offer the most serious prob-, 
lems at the present time, because circumstances have 
here combined to keep out the name and the Word 
of Christ. There is the heart of Asia, with Mongolia, 
Chinese Turkistan, Tibet, Afghanistan, and Balu- 
chistan; there is the interior of Africa, with almost 
fifty pagan tribes; there is the heart of South Amer- 
ica, many parts of which are not even explored. 

That is the challenge to Christianity, that is our 
obligation of love! 

Nor have we as yet mentioned the field which is 
both a problem and the most emphatic challenge, at 
our very doors. Even if we count all those who are 
only nominally members of Christian churches in 
our country, we have 


BETWEEN 60 AND 65 PER CENT. OF OUR 


TOTAL POPULATION NOT WITHIN THE 
CHURCH! 


Think of it: some 65,000,000 of our fellow- 
citizens in this country have not yet accepted the 
Gospel of Jesus Christ unto their salvation, and, 
stranger still, many of'these have not even heard of 
their Savior. In the midst of a so-called Christian 
civilization, people have never been approached with 
a view of making them acquainted with the great 
truths which will bring redemption also to them, the 
justification which is ready for them in the perfect 
atonement of Jesus Christ. 

And the matter is of unusual interest to 


US LUTHERANS! 


Due partly to the need of gathering those who 
applied to us for spiritual care during the great im- 
migration from Lutheran and semi-Lutheran coun- 
tries, partly to the unfortunate language question, 
we have not yet reached out to our fellow-citizens as 
opportunity offered. And what is more, a conserva- 
tive estimate tells us that 


ABOUT TEN MILLION PEOPLE OF 
LUTHERAN EXTRACTION IN THIS COUN- 
TRY ARE NOT CONNECTED WITH THE 
LUTHERAN CHURCH! | 


So many reasons have been advanced for this 
condition. But, whatever the reason, these souls are 
a constant challenge to us, they present to us the 


OPPORTUNITY AND THE OBLIGATION 
OF LOVE! 


It is because personal work has been so largely 
neglected in our midst that the deficit in souls is so 
great against our Church. There can be no question 
concerning the fact that, in addition to the public 
proclamation of the Gospel, words for Christ to the 


individual are most effective in the winning of souls. 
A kind, but earnest word to a negligent churchgoer 
of our own confirmation class, a tactful invitation to 
a neighbor, a letter confessing Christ in a frank 
manner — these are the things that count with the 
individual and often serve as entering-wedges for the 
Word of salvation. 

“Tt is the man-to-man work that tells. And be- 
cause it is this work that is most effective, this is the 
work that is best to do. Even though it is less at- 
tractive work, as we look at it, and seems to others 
less important to be done, we must admit that the 
results are worth considering. As John B. Gough 
said of the one loving word of Joel Stratton that 
won him: ‘My friend, it may be a small matter for 
you to speak the one word for Christ that wins a 
needy soul, —a small matter to you, but it is every- 
thing to him. It is forgetting this truth that causes 
personal work to be neglected.” (Trumbull.) 

It was the greatest missionary of all times that 
said, as he summarized the devotion of a lifetime in 
one sentence: — 

“T AM DEBTOR both to the Greeks and to the 
barbarians; both to the wise and to the unwise.” 
Rom. 1, 14. 

If we realize the obligation of love resting 
upon us, 


WE ARE DEBTORS! 


eh fF ale 
CHAPTER III. 


Workers Together with Him! 2 Cor. 6,1. 
The Biblical Precept and Example. 


It is a wonderful name: “WORKERS TO- 
GETHER WITH GOD!”—a name of rich content, 
a name which bestows a world of honor upon us. 

The very expression “together with” is full of 
significance and power. It reminds us of so many 
other gifts and blessings of God, especially of those 
which were so richly imparted to us in Christ Jesus. 

We are heirs together with Christ, as St. Paul so 
beautifully states: — 

“The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit 
that we are the children of God; and if children, 
then heirs; heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ.” 
Rom. 8, 16. 17. 

And it is particularly comforting to us, who are 
descendants of heathen, that St. Paul writes: — 

“That the Gentiles should be fellow-heirs and of 
the same body and partakers of His promise in 
Christ by the Gospel.” Eph. 3, 6. 

We are partakers together of the life in Christ, 
which will have its culmination in the enjoyment 
of the glory of heaven. The apostle states: — 

“Tt is a faithful saying: For if we be dead with 
Him, we shall also live with Him; if we suffer, we 
shall also reign with Him.” 2 Tim. 2, 11.12. 

The honor which has thereby been bestowed on 
the human race can hardly be estimated highly 
enough, for it is one point of evidence showing the 
greatness of God’s mercy toward us. 

The very inspired writers marvel at some of 
the facts connected with the history of man’s re- 
demption. In the mystery of the incarnation, for 


— 82 — 


instance, one might well wonder why the Lord did 
not appear in the form of an angel to bring 
redemption to men. But we are told: — 

“Verily He took not on Him the nature of 
angels, but He took on Him the seed of Abraham.” 
Heb. 2, 16. 

Well may we sing in the glorious Christmastide: 

Th’ eternal Father’s only Son 
For a manger leaves His throne; 


Disguised in our poor flesh and blood 
Is now the everlasting Good. 


The mystery of the incarnatton of our Lord, as 
the first step in the perfected redemption, is so great 
that the “angels desire to look into” the marvelous 
facts connected therewith. 1 Pet. 1, 12. 

It is true, moreover, that the Lord uses the holy 
angels as His messengers. Thus we find that the 
angel Gabriel was at various times sent to Daniel, 
particularly to strengthen and comfort him on 
account of the visions which were given him. The 
same angel was sent also to Mary and to Zacharias. 

But angels are not honored with the name of 
WORKERS TOGETHER WITH GOD. While an 
angel brought the news of the birth of the Savior 
to the shepherds on the fields of Bethlehem, and 
while it was a chorus of angels that first sang an 
anthem of praise in glorifying God for this holy 
birth, it is true, nevertheless, that angels were not 
entrusted with the divine commission, but this dis- 
tinction was given to human beings. 

NOT ANGELS, BUT MEN are chosen by God 
to preach the Gospel to every creature; upon MEN 
is placed the obligation of love. Those whose brother 
the Savior became by His sacred incarnation are to 
make known to all members of the human family 


BES fi puta 


the news of the redemption wrought by their 
Brother. 

With the consciousness of this distinction, of this 
unequaled honor, we can understand the precepts of 
the Lord. For it is not only in the divine com- 
mission itself that He speaks to us concerning the 
need of bringing the message of salvation to others, 
but also in many other passages, whose import and 
significance should be considered by us with the 
most assiduous attention. 

Even in the Old Testament we find the Lord 
calling out to us in an excess of jubilation : — 

“Say among the heathen that the Lord reigneth; 
the world also shall be established that it shall not 
be moved. He shall judge the people righteously.” 
Ps. 96, 10. 

And we may well consider, in this connection, 
passages like Ps.117,1; Is.34,1; Jer. 4, 2. 

But it is in the New Testament that this feature 
of bringing to others the assurance of the redemp- 
tion gained by Christ is particularly prominent. 
Who could forget the words addressed by Christ to 
the healed and grateful demoniac: 

“Return to thine own house and Bie how great 
things God hath done unto thee”? Luke 8, 39. 

In this case it required no second urging, for we 
are told that “he went his way and _ published 
throughout the whole city how great things Jesus 
had done unto him.” 

Can we afford to do less with the fulness of God’s 
spiritual blessings resting upon us? 

The words of St. Paul to the Galatians are well 
known, but they will bear ‘repetition : — 

“Let us not be weary in well-doing; for in due 
season we shall reap, if we faint not. As we have 

While It Is Day! 3 


eet ae 


therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, 
especially unto them who are of the household of 
farth??)  Gals679400: 

Can we pass on greater blessings than the for- 
viveness of sins, peace with God, the happiness of 
a good conscience, which are ours in the Gospel? 

What more impressive precept than that con- 
tained. in the words of the great apostle and mis- 
sionary in Col. 1, 26—29? 

“Even the mystery which hath been hid from 
ages and from generations, but now is made mani- 
fest to His saints: to whom God would make known 
what is the. riches of the glory of this mystery . 
among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope 
of glory; whom we preach, warning every man and 
teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may 
present every man perfect in Christ Jesus; where- 
unto I also labor, striving according to His working, 
which worketh in me mightily.” 

Words of the greatest humility, surely, that Paul 
is also trying to do his share. And shall we not 
strive to follow the precept contained in this declara- 
tion with regard to making known to others the 
riches of the glory of this mystery ? 

Consider for a moment the place that soul- 
winning occupied in the apostolic mind. The early 
Chureh proved itself in every way a soul-winning 
organization. We are told that on Pentecost Day 
those who gladly received the words of Peter were 
baptized; and the same day there were added unto 
them about three thousand souls. Acts 2,41. Again 
we read that many of them which heard the Word 
believed; and the number of the men was about five 
thousand. Acts 4,4. Once more we are told that 
believers were the more added to the Lord, multi- 


fixed} 5, Sues 


tudes both of men and women. Acts 5, 14. And 
again, that the number of the disciples multiplied 
in Jerusalem greatly. Acts 6, 7. Compare Acts 
12,24: 19, 18. 20. 

Can we ever forget that Saul, just as soon as he 
himself was brought to the knowledge of the truth, 
set about winning others, and that the passion for 
souls never left him? How remarkably well the 
purpose of his life is set forth in his words to the 
Romans : — 

“Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God 
for Israel is that they might be saved!” Chap. 10, 1. 

But there is still more to be considered in trying 
to realize the full significance of being WORKERS 
TOGETHER WITH GOD. 

The example of those who were, in the special 
sense of the word, ministers of God, who were in 
charge of the public proclamation of the Word, 
stands out on practically every page of Holy Writ. 
Even in the Old Testament we find Moses pleading 

with Hobab, his brother-in-law : — 
“Come thou with us, and we will do thee good; 
for the Lord hath spoken good concerning Israel... . 
And it shall be, if thou go with us, yea, it shall be 
that what goodness the Lord shall do unto us, the 
same will we do unto thee.” Num. 10, 29. 32. 

In a much higher degree and to a much greater 
extent we find this spirit in the spiritual leaders of 
the New Testament, not only in St. Paul, but in 
Peter and the other apostles as well. They all re- 
garded their own lives as being of little account if 
they might but win souls for Christ. “Publicly and 
-from house to house they made known the message 
of salvation that by all means some might be saved. 


Ay Rapa 


But a fact which is still more interesting: and 
significant in the present study is that which 
concerns 


THE WORK OF LAYMEN IN THE 
APOSTOLIC CHURCH. 


This fact is brought to our attention from a 
number of angles, both by express statements and 
by deductions which may rightly be made from the 
narrative. 

Have you ever stopped to consider how many 
congregations were founded by laymen in the years 
between 30 and 60 A. D.? 

We are all familiar with the fact that Stephen 
was the first Christian martyr. Now, it is a re- 
markable testimony to the’ manner in which God 
carries on the work of His kingdom that the perse- 
cution which followed the assassination of Stephen 
was an instrument in the hands of Providence’ to 
spread the Gospel. 

“And they were all scattered abroad throughout 
the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the — 
apostles.... They that were scattered abroad went 
everywhere, preaching the Word.” Acts 8,1. 4. 

Mind you, it is expressly stated that the apostles 
were not included in this scattering. For the present 
they stayed in Jerusalem. It was the lay members 
that spread the Gospel through Western Judea and 
Samaria. The apostles received information that 
churches had been established in Samaria, and only 
then did they send Peter and John to establish these 
congregations, by giving them a regular ministry. 
Acts 8, 14. 

At Damascus likewise Christians were found, and 
evidently in some numbers; for Saul went there 


rae 5 ae 


with the avowed intention of bringing men and 
women bound to Jerusalem. Acts 9, 2. 14. 

Western Judea had been so thoroughly. evan- 
gelized by Christians from Jerusalem, Acts 8, 1, that 
there were saints, believers, members of the Church, 
at Lydda, at Saron, and at Joppa. Acts 9, 32. 35. 36. 

Of special interest in this connection is the ac- 
count which we find of the founding of churches in 
Syria, because Antioch later became a great center 
of Christianity. We are told: — 

“Now, they which were scattered abroad upon the 
persecution that arose about Stephen traveled as far 
as Phenice and Cyprus and Antioch, preaching the 
Word to none but unto the Jews only. And some of 
them were men of Cyprus and Cyrene, which, when 
they were come to Antioch, spake unto the Grecians, 
preaching the Lord Jesus.” Acts 11, 19. 20. 

We have here, then, the first account of an open 
attempt to bring the Gospel to such as were not 
Jews, to people of an entirely different race and 
nation. This attempt was made by men from the ° 
island of Cyprus and from the region of Cyrene in 
Egypt. These men, as members of the Jewish Dis- 
persion, were more favorably inclined toward those 
speaking a different language. It was not a liberal 
attitude, but a fine zeal for the spread of the Gospel 
which actuated them. 

The reference to Phenicia at this point explains 
another fact which is brought to our attention some- 
what later. In Acts 21, 3.4 we find that there were 
disciples at Tyre, and not only men, but also women 
and children, and in verse 7 we read of brethren at 
Ptolemais, another Phenician port. ‘These congre- 
gations evidently belonged to the group of those 
that had been founded in the early thirties, when the 


88a 


persecution following the death of Stephen took 
place. 

But the most interesting story is that of the 
congregation at Rome. We have no historical ac- 
count of the founding of this church, and it was al- 
ready in existence for some time when Paul wrote 
his epistle, early in the year 57. The obvious con- 
clusion is this, that some of the strangers from 
Rome, Acts 2,10, returned to the capital city of 
the empire and testified for the truth of the Gospel. 
At first the congregation was strongly Jewish in 
character, but in the course of time Gentiles were 
added, until they formed the majority. It is quite 
certain that no other apostle had been in Rome at 
the time when Paul sent his letter, Rom. 15, 20; for 
his entire letter is an exposition of the fundamentals 
of Christian doctrine. The congregation at Rome, 
founded by laymen at an early date, had maintained 
itself for more than two decades, being fortunate in 
having experienced Christians from other parts of 
the empire visiting them from time to time and 
strengthening them in their work. So well had the 
Christians of Rome been established by the early 
sixties that the decree of Claudius banishing all 
Jews from Rome had not permanently injured the 
congregation; for after the death of Claudius the 
work had rapidly been reestablished and stations 
founded even in the suburbs, as at Puteoli. Acts 
28,13. 14. 

To these interesting and fascinating facts much 
other information could be added, but we must here 
add at least one further section, namely, that con- 
cerning individual, personal work; for such it is 
that every Christian is in a position to do. 

It is here that we are amazed at the array of 


Bau 5 [tp Abel 


facts bringing home to us the BLESSEDNESS OF 
PERSONAL WORK. 

Who will, at this point, not immediately think 
of the shepherds at Bethlehem, who immediately 
“made known abroad the saying which was told them 
concerning this Child”? Luke 2,17. We think also 
of Anna, the prophetess, who “spake of Him to all 
them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem.” 
Luke 2, 38. 

We cannot omit a reference to the first five dis- 
ciples of the Lord, two of whom at once became mis- 
sionaries and informed others of their happiness in 
having found the Messiah. John 1, 41.45. Almost 
pathetic is the case of the Samaritan woman, who 
ran to the city with her eager announcement : — 

“Come, see a man which told me all things which 
ever I did: is not this the Christ?” John 4, 29. 

These are all cases of testifying for Christ and 
thus spreading the Gospel of salvation by direct 
personal contact. But we have records of even more 
work done by the early Christians, and that by lay 
members. 

A most outstanding example is that of AQUILA 
and PRISCILLA. 

Our first information concerning this consecrated 
Christian and his equally consecrated wife is given 
us in connection with the decree of Claudius com- 
manding the Jews to depart from Rome. This was 
in the year 49 A.D. They came to Corinth and 
established themselves there. The next year the 
Apostle Paul, coming over from Athens, worked in 
the shop which they had established, the craft being 
that of tent-making. When Paul left the city after 
about twenty months, these two consecrated Chris- 
tians accompanied him as far as Ephesus, where 


they remained when he found it necessary to hurry 
away to Jerusalem. In the interval of his absence 
they did fine work in establishing the congregation 
in Ephesus and in making known to Apollos the full 
counsel of God, as we read in Acts 18. When Paul 
came down to Ephesus about two years later, fine 
progress had been made. Aquila and Priscilla 
opened their home to the congregation as a meeting- 
place, as Paul notes with grateful appreciation. 
1 Cor..16,,19. 

In the year 54 A. D. Claudius Caesar died, and 
so the decree banishing the Jews from the capital 
city was no longer in foree. Accordingly, Aquila 
and Priscilla returned to Rome, evidently to take 
care of their business interests. But they were just 
as active in church-work here as they had been in 
Corinth and in Ephesus ; for we find that Paul, 
writing from Corinth in 57, sends greetings to the 
church that is in their house. Rom. 16,5. Some nine 
or ten years later, however, we find: them living once 
more in Ephesus, for St. Paul, writing to Timothy 
in that city, sends greetings to “Prisca and Aquila.” 
9 Tim. 4, 19. 

What a wonderful career is here sketched for us: 
consecrated lay people serving the great apostle in 
various ways, as he indicates Rom. 16, 3—5, giving 
diligence to the instruction of Apollos, harboring the 
congregation in their house! - 

Nor were they the only Christians whose labors 
for the Lord are acknowledged by Paul. If we but 
read the list of names in Romans 16 and note what 
he has to say with regard to the several people 
mentioned there; if we glance at the first verses in 
Philippians 4; if we consider, for a moment, the 
names of Luke, of Aristarchus, of Tychicus, and 


ses Cd 


others, of Gaius, concerning whom St. John writes 
that his charitable endeavors are very acceptable 
indeed, 3 John 5—8, — we are surprised in a manner 
which causes us to emulate their example. 

Truly, we can be 


WORKERS TOGETHER WITH HIM, 
if we but follow the Biblical precept and example. 


CHEAP TERS LV. 


Zealously Affected in a Good Thing! Gal. 4, 18. 
Qualifications of the Workers. 


The Seripture-passage which we have at the head 
of the present chapter is peculiarly appropriate to 
our discussion. The Apostle Paul was not in sym- 
pathy with an attitude which is always ready to 
receive, the plea being that faith must be disasso- 
ciated from works. It is true that saving faith in its 
essence is the receiving of the grace of God in the 
Gospel. 

But saving faith is, nevertheless, a living faith. 
Tt is a ight which not only receives fuel, but which 
also shines. The apostle fittingly calls it “faith 
which worketh by love,’ Gal.5,6, that is, a faith 
which is active in love, which shows itself in works 
of love. 

It is here that we apply the admonition of 
St. Paul. He was decidedly impatient with the false 
teachers among the Galatians, who were trying to 
lead the believers back into the bondage of the Law, 
to keep its precepts for the purpose of attaining to 
a righteousness of works and thus setting aside the 
righteousness of Christ, the righteousness which 


Sa nee 


comes to men by faith in His vicarious atonement. 
For that reason the apostle denounced the false 
teachers in no uncertain terms, telling the Christians 
that the interlopers were zealously affecting them, 
but not well; they were trying to stir them up to — 
a frenzy of work-righteousness, but not in a manner 
which would really redound to the Christians’ 
highest good. ; 

Over against this wrong position the apostle 
places the correct principle, that of the Christians’ 
growth in sanctification. He writes: — 


“TIT IS GOOD TO BE ZEALOUSLY AFFECTED 
ALWAYS IN A GOOD THING!” 


Paul wanted the Galatian Christians to have the 
proper attitude of affection toward their Lord and 
Savior at all times, whether he were present or not. 
This attitude would result in a zeal for Christ and 
His kingdom, which would show itself at all times. 

‘There is no finer maxim than the above for the 
soul-winner, in whom the passion for souls is an 
every-day matter, who is ever on the lookout for 
opportunities to be more active in the Lord’s service, 
to fit himself better for the privileges-of the church- 
member, FOR THE WINNING OF SOULS! 

It is these qualifications which concern us in this 
chapter. Not as though they would have to be our 
full possession before we may begin on our task, but 
that they are placed before us as ideals after which 
we may strive all our life. 

The fundamental principle, as indicated above, is 
that of a faith active in love. This faith is not 
a mere reliance on the ability of Christ as an in- 
spiring leader nor a mere appreciation of His great- 
ness as teacher, as so many Modernists sancti- 


be RA 


moniously love to picture it, but it is the acceptance 
of Jesus Christ as one’s personal Savior, who by His 
vicarious redemption has freed us from the guilt 
and the punishment of sin. By virtue of this faith, 
men are justified in the sight of QGod, they are 
declared to be righteous, the perfect righteousness 
of Christ being imputed to them. 

“By grace are ye saved, through faith; and that 
not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not of works, 
lest any man should boast.” Eph. 2, 8.9. 

While this faith excludes all works of man as 
having any value for the gaining or keeping of sal- 
vation, Rom. 3, 28, by the same token this faith is 
most decidedly active in love. In fact, it does not 
and cannot exist without works, no more than a good 
tree can be without fruit. Jas. 2,17; Matt. 5, 16. 
Since God has prepared the good works beforehand 
that we should walk in them, 2 Cor. 9,8; Eph. 2, 10, 
it follows that these works will be plentiful in the 
measure of our own spiritual life. 

“Fruitful in every good work.” Col. 1, 10. 

What wonderful opportunities are open to those 
who are earnestly concerned about the obligation of 
love resting upon them! 

Right here we ought to pause a moment to con- 
sider the power of faith, that is, of that calm trust 
in God, connected with saving faith, which relies 
upon His promises in spite of all difficulties. We 
are not strong in our own power, but for that reason 
the power of God and Christ in us are in a position 
to do all the more through us. The assurance which 
the Lord gave to His apostle is ours also: — 

“My grace is sufficient for thee; for My strength 
is made perfect in weakness.” 2 Cor. 12, 9. 


44 


Paul’s conclusion is: “When I am weak, then 
am I strong.” 2 Cor. 12, 10c. 


“When I am weak, then am I strong,” 
Though hostile armies round me throng, 
And fill my heart with fear; 

Although they jeer on ev’ry side, 

My humble faith and trust deride, 

And their contempt I bear. 


“When I am weak, then am I strong’; 
When I am conscious of the wrong 
That still infests my soul; j 
When I my utter weakness feel, 

No man my bleeding wounds can heal, 
No man can make me whole. 


“When I am weak, then am I strong’; 
For Him I count my friends among 
Who gave His life for me. 

By faith His mighty strength He gives, 
By faith my burdened spirit lives, 
His love has set me free. 


“When I am weak, then am [I strong,” 
And though the path seem often long, 
His love points out the goal; 

He guides and leads me day by day, 
He keeps me in the narrow way, 

He welcomes home my soul. 


“T CAN DO ALL THINGS THROUGH 
CHRIST, WHICH STRENGTHENETH ME” 
Phil. 4, 18. 

With faith in Christ as the basis everything else 
may be accomplished. ‘This faith brings about a 
genuine belief in the work in which we are engaged, 
as one of the supreme things worth while. The 
attitude of faith is the attitude of devotion, of 
actually offering up oneself to the Lord. . 

“T beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the 


sR 5 aah 


mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living 
sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your 
reasonable service.” Rom. 12, 1. 

~The choice is not that of a mere intrinsic value 
and interest, though this factor is important enough 
in itself, but the attitude plainly says: I am inter- 
ested in the work of soul-winning because God 
wants me to be, and because it is so vitally worth 
while. It is one of the highest forms of service and 
of devotion to Him. 

Such an attitude begets confidence, not only in 
the worthiness of the enterprise, but in the certainty 
of success under God’s guidance and with His help. 
We have God’s command and promise on our side, 
and therefore our determination must and shall be 
equal to the definiteness of His Word. 

“All things are possible to him that believeth.” 
Mark 9, 28. 

To this personal consecration must be added posi- 
tive virtues as they are painted so beautifully in 
the Bible. 

There is the virtue of faith, that is, of unwaver- 
ing trust in God and in His promises, as described 
above. 

‘There is the virtue of love, whose obligation we 
are here considering, set before us in the incom- 
parable “Psalm of Love” contained in 1 Cor. 13. 

There is the virtue of hope, the outgrowth of 
saving faith, 1 Pet. 1,3, which looks up to the Lord 
with the calm certainty that the future will bring 
the joyful consummation of every expectation as 
promised in the Word of His mercy. 

But there are other qualifications that the soul- 
winner must strive after and must cultivate with 
persistent application. 


sae 9 ae 


One of the outstanding characteristics of the 
great Apostle Paul was his humility, with an almost 
pathetic eagerness to efface himself for the sake of 
others. Like Moses, Num. 12,3, he was meek in the 
extreme. And therefore he was in a position to 
admonish others to show and cultivate true humility 
in dealing with others. 

“With all lowliness and imeekness, with long- 
suffering, forbearing one another in love.” Eph. 4, 2. 
CpsColsd. f24P) 2 oe el Pate 

Not as though Paul had permitted any man to 
abuse him and his work for the Lord, for in such 
a case he was very emphatic in setting offenders 
right. Cp. 2 Cor. 10, 12—17. 

His position was this, that he who gloried should 
glory in the Lord alone, not seeking honor for him- 
self, but in meekness placing himself and all his 
talents in the service of the Lord and his fellow-man. 

Such humility, then, does not in any way set 
aside firmness and courage, but rather encourages 
and supports a definite stand on the basis of Chris- 
tian. liberty. It is true of soul-winners as it is of 
all Christians : — 

“Stand fast, therefore, in the liberty wherewith 
Christ hath made us free and be not entangled again 
with the yoke of bondage.” Gal. 5, 1. 

A soul-winner cannot afford to be either fool- 
hardy or cowardly. This is so important that it 
shall be discussed at greater length in a later 
chapter. 

Humility also does not interfere with the proper 
self-respect. A person who has no respect for him- 
self and for his own soul will hardly have much for 
the soul of another. The fact that we are “bought 
with a price’ must be brought out so strongly in 


ay 9" dee 


our consciousness that it shows in all our bearing. 
The attitude of some enthusiasts of the early 
Chureh, who thought that one must despise himself 
and cringe in the face of the world, is as bad as 
a conceit which is overbearing in its behavior toward 
others. 

A soul-winner needs the virtue of fidelity in a 
high degree. This requires, first of all, a staunch 
loyalty to the Lord, whom he has promised faithful- 
ness. But it requires also an unwavering devotion 
to the cause in which we are engaged.. The matter 
of winning others for the Lord is not an easy task. 
It is usually not done with shouting and by means 
of mass conversions. It means faithful adherence 
to the plan adopted as our program, that of making 
our time and every talent count. 

Then there is veracity, or truthfulness. Under 
no circumstances can we afford to be two-faced or 
even to give the impression of being double-tongued. 
Our cause is the essence of truth, and we have no 
apology to make for any part of it. We have nothing 
to hide and nothing to be ashamed of. St. Paul 
could truthfully say of himself :— 

“We spake all things to you in truth.” 2 Cor. 
7, 14. 

This implies that we ourselves make use of all 
sincertty, that the truth be not only in our tongue, 
but in our heart. The insincere person may have 
a message which in itself is the very acme of truth, 
but his duplicity will most likely become apparent 
sooner or later, and the result is apt to be disastrous, 
not only to such a person himself, but, above all, to 
the cause and to the message of the Gospel. 


“My little children, let us not love in word, 


neither in tongue, but in deed and in truth.” 
1 John 38, 18. 

With these characteristics as the basic virtues of 
the soul-winner, he will be ready to enter upon his 
work of love with all enthusiasm, not with hare- 
brained precipitation, but with a clear-eyed opti- 
-mism, with a definite reliance upon the fact that it 
is God’s work which we are carrying on. 

For that reason, however, diligence is also 
needed, a cheerful, steady application to the duties 
imposed’ upon us by the obligation of love. We 
simply cannot afford to dawdle, to stand around idle, 
with the specious plea that no man has hired us. 
Matt. 20,7. Our Lord has hired us, and we know 
that we must apply ourselves most assiduously to 
the task in hand; for “the night cometh when no 
man can work.’ For that reason we must also 
observe the talent of time and be punctual in all 
our work. Our God is a God of order, and our 
Savior was punctual in both His incarnation, Gal. 
4,4, and in His death on the cross. It simply means 
being conscientious in the duties which the Lord 
has given us to perform, so that both He and our 
fellow-men can rely upon us at all times. There 
are few experiences more discouraging than to be 
obliged to wait at meeting for laggards who think 
that they have the privilege of coming late at their 
convenience. 

A very important virtue of the soul-winner is 
patience, the ability to apply oneself to a task with 
unflagging interest and with unremitting toil, in 
spite of the obstacles and difficulties which tend to 
make the work tedious. It is not merely that the 
soul-winnner combines patience with faith, love, and 
meekness in himself, but that he applies this virtue 


ee A 


to all the conditions of his endeavor, especially in 
meeting ignorance and hostility. We are workers 
together with God, not in the sense that He and we 
are a team pulling side by side, but in this, that He 
works through us, that He makes known the message 
of salvation through our efforts. God gives His 
Holy Spirit when and where He will. 

“T have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave 
the increase. So, then, neither is he that planteth 
anything, neither he that watereth, but God, that 
giveth the increase.” 1 Cor. 3, 6. 7. 

Another very important point in the make-up of 
a soul-winner is tact, that is, the intuitive, quick, 
and correct appreciation of that which is fit, proper, 
and right in a given situation. Tact is ever kindly 
and sympathetic; it never takes advantage of any 
form of weakness on the part of those with whom 
we are dealing; it wipes out differences of rank and 
station without diminishing the feeling of respect 
on the part of him who receives assistance from us. 
It succeeds, above all, in removing the feeling of 
distrust which many people have for such as discuss 
religious matters with them. It brings the highest 
topics of spiritual welfare to a self-evident plane 
without making them trivial. At the same time, 
there is no lack of true politeness and even of affa- 
bility in approaching people. We must study the 
manner in which the Lord Himself approached 
the various, people whom He wanted to win for the 
Gospel. He deals differently with John than with 
Peter, with the woman of Samaria than with Mat- 
thew, with the great sinner than with Zacchaeus, 
with the thief on the cross than with Saul, the per- 
secutor. Philip deals differently with the Ethiopian 


eunuch than with the people of Samaria. Paul uses 
While It Is Day! 4 


— 50 — 


a different approach in the case of Lydia and of the 
jailer, although both were converted in the same city. 

The soul-winner requires self-denial; here, again, 
first for himself, namely, in the sense which Jesus 
speaks of it: — 

“Tf any man will come after Me, let him deny 
himself and take up ms cross, and follow Me.” 
Matt. 16, 24. 

It is necessary that all boasting be excluded, that 
the idea of “myself and I and my own righteous- 
ness” be set aside emphatically and definitely. 

“Ye are My friends if ye do whatsoever I com- 
mand you.” John 15, 14. 

This self-denial, then, is in evidence whenever 
the true soul-winner approaches any one who may 
be gained for the truth. All thought of self is set 
aside, and the heart concentrates its efforts upon 
the one great task in hand, that of convincing the 
hearer of the truth of the Gospel-message. 

Lord, help me live from day to day 
In such a self-forgetful way 


That even when I kneel to pray 
My prayer shall be for —OTHERS. 


Help me in all the work I do 

To be sincere and ever true 

And know that all I’d do for you 
Must needs be done for —OTHERS. 


Let “self” be crucified and slain 

And buried deep, and all in vain 

May efforts be to rise again 

Unless to live for — OTHERS. : 


But all these virtues and many others — faith, 
love, hope, humility, firmness, courage, fidelity, 
veracity, sincerity, enthusiasm, diligence, affability, 
conscientiousness, politeness, dignity, chastity, self- 


Pea yg | 


denial, punctuality, cheerfulness, sympathy, tact — 
must be based on knowledge; they are useless with- 
out such thorough understanding as comes from a 
diligent study of the Bible. To depend on emotions 
alone, on fleeting impressions, on a temporary in- 
terest, or to be stimulated by outward success alone, 
would be the wrong motivation and would certainly 
not result in a true soul-winning effort. We must 
all be willing, eager to study the Word of God and 
to grow in knowledge of our Savior and the way of 
sanctification. We must be willing also to attend 
classes organized for special training in soul- 
winning. We can always learn from others, espe- 
cially from such as have had personal experience in 
the work of soul-winning. It will never do for us 
to insist upon going our own way when the soul’s 
salvation of so many unnumbered people is con- 
eerned. The work is always under the guidance of 
those whom the Lord has called to be our teachers. 

“Woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for 
he hath not another to help him up.... And if one 
prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and 
a threefold cord is not quickly broken.” EKecl. 
4, 10. 12. 

“Where two or three are gathered together in 
My name, there am I in the midst of them.” Matt. 
18, 20. 

Let us now summarize the chief qualifications of 
soul-winners as others have discussed them. 

Broughton says that the work side of the soul- 
winning Church must keep the individual burden 
before the minds of its members; that no one may 
shirk the responsibility placed upon him by the 
Word of God; that the so-called humble talent in 
the congregation ought to be developed, not merely 


ra 9. | al 


the rich and prominent people; and that opportuni- 
ties should be created with the talent at hand. 

Kemp says of the qualifications of the soul- 
winner: 1. He must possess a deep love for the 
souls of men. 2. He must have an overwhelming 
passion for the soul’s salvation. 8. He must have 
a deep and heartfelt conviction of the soul’s worth. 
4, The soul-winner requires tact. in his work. 

Lord, give us love — 

The love that flows from Thee, 

The love that Thou didst show for us on Calvary 

When Thou Thy life laidst down to make us whole. 

Let this mind be in us to fill our soul, 

That we devote our life. to serving Thee 

And “Laying down our life for others” may our 

motto be, 

That love may rise in us and grow from day to day 

And we be ever guided by its gentle sway, — 

Give us such love! 


CHAPTER V. 


The Time Is Short. 1 Cor. 7, 29. 
Salesmanship for the Lord. 


The qualifications which we considered in the last 
chapter make for a strong Christian personality. 
The possession of any one of them or of a group of 
them is a fine asset to the soul-winner. But he must 
not be satisfied with having gained some measure of 
ability along one line. It is necessary for him to 
build up for higher efficiency. Let us group some 
of the positive qualities which come into considera- 
tion in working for the Lord. 

Let us list some of the qualifications of the in- 
tellect, of the sensibilities, of the will, and of the 


aE A, Fea 


spirit, or heart, as they must be highly developed and 
as they must be kept in the highest possible state of 
efficiency. 


1. The qualities which are important for ability: 


Observation Imagination 
Concentration Judgment 
Memory Reason 

2. The qualities which insure reliability : — 
Honesty Ambition 
Loyalty Enthusiasm 
Sincerity _ Optimism 


3. The qualities which are essential for leader- 
ship: — - | 
Decision Courage 
Punctuality Initiative 


4. The spiritual qualities which are required in 
the soul-winner : — 


Eagerness for growth Love 
in knowledge Hope 
Faith 


Observation is needed to see and develop oppor- 
tunities and to read the character of people. Con- 
centration enables one to give the proper attention 
to a problem. Memory ought to be developed for the 
sake of remembering facts needed in soul-winning 
efforts. The imagination must be duly cultivated 
for the sake of planning campaigns and presenting 
possibilities. The judgment ought to be so developed 
that all ordinary arguments may be both employed 
and answered. Reason must be made the handmaid 
of all our work in the Church. 

Honesty will often do more to convince people 
than arguments in themselves. Loyalty and faith- 


faethe dea 

fulness, together with close application, will create 
an atmosphere of conviction. Ambition in the in- 
terest of the Lord and His work will tend to bring 
about an attitude of eagerness to build the kingdom 
of the Lord. This will. be further aided by enthu- 
siasm and a proper optimism based on the Lord’s 
promises. 

If one cultivates the quality of quick and correct 
decision, he will be dependable in positions of leader- 
ship. Punctuality in all undertakings, in keeping 
all appointments, enables one to grasp a situation 
according to its general outlines before others have 
so much as arrived. Courage enables one to under- 
take even a difficult task with a determination which 
is half the battle. Initiative finds an opening and 
takes hold of problems without hesitation. 

These qualities must and should be used in 
SALESMANSHIP FOR THE LORD. 

This is necessary because THE TIME IS 
SHORT. 1 Cor. 7, 29. 

“The end of all things is at hand; be ye therefore 
sober and watch unto prayer.” 1 Pet. 4, 7. 

“Little children, it is the last time.” 1 John 2, 18. 

“Y must work the works of Him that sent Me 
while it is day; THE NIGHT COMETH WHEN 
NO MAN CAN WORK.” John 9, 4. 

When a sales manager plans and maps out a cam- 
paign and finds that the time for carrying out his 
objectives is short, he will be all the more careful 
about instructing his salesmen along the lines of best 
endeavor. He will try to communicate to every one 
of them the mental alertness, the eager tension with 
which he is himself imbued. Every movement must 
count; he cannot afford one moment of lost motion. 

Even so, in these last days of the world, every 


oe Sle 


Christian, a soul-winner by virtue of his profession, 
will strain every nerve to gain souls for the salvation 
prepared for them in Christ Jesus. 

Since we are here chiefly concerned with personal 
work, we note, first of all, that the soul-winner must 
study the individual with whom he is dealing. It is 
a question of observing faces intently, of determin- 
ing, by the expression of eyes and features, whether 
a contact has been, or is being, established. A pleas- 
ant and cheerful voice is much more likely to attract 
than one which grates on the prospect’s ear. The 
message which we have is to be brought with clear- 
yess, force, and elegance. Clearness appeals to the 
intellect; force appeals to the emotions; elegance 
appeals to the taste. The more we know human 
nature and the better we are-able to analyze the 
emotions, the better we shall be able to influence 
them in a manner which will pave the way for a will- 
ing acceptance of our invitation for Christ. 

We are salesmen for Christ; we are engaged in 
bringing the blessings of salvation to men who are in . 
need of them; we have orders to call the attention 
of men everywhere to the wonderful call of the Lord: 

“Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the 
waters; and he that hath no money: come ye, buy 
and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without 
money and without price!” Is. 55, 1. 

With this wonderful obligation and responsibility 
resting upon us, we ought to be familiar with the 
seven mental processes through which the mind of 
the missionary prospect must be taken before we can 
expect him to be interested in the great message of 
salvation. 

First: He must be met; we must somehow get 
together with him. ; 


i 6G) 2 


Secondly: His attention must be attracted to the 
message which we have for him, and that in such a 
manner that a favorable mental impression is imme- 
diately created in the prospect’s mind. 

Thirdly: We must arouse the prospect’s interest. 

Fourthly: We must convince him that our propo- 
sition is to his advantage. 

Fifthly: We must cause him, if possible, to have 
a desire for our message and its contents. 

Sixthly: We must, if possible, add to this desire 
a positive resolve on the part of the prospect to pos- 
sess the blessing of which we are speaking. 

Seventhly: We must bring about favorable ad- 
tion on the part of the prospect. 

Each one of these processes is separate and dis- 
tinct, although it may be very closely linked up with 
the one nearest to it. We must remember that no 
chain is stronger than its weakest link, and if we 
fail to prepare for any of these steps, the chances are 
_ that we shall lose our prospect. Let us, therefore, 
study these steps in greater detail and try to grasp 
their significance for our work of soul-winning. 

First: THE PROSPECT MUST BE MET — 
WE MUST SOMEHOW GET TOGETHER 
WITH HIM. 

This step is usually designated THE AP- 
PROACH. It means that we see the person con- 
cerned, if at all possible, in person; for that is the 
best way for a salesman to see a customer. Even 
the best publicity work will not be equal to a meet- 
ing face to face or, in our ease, a heart-to-heart talk. 
If it is a former member of the church whom you 
wish to see, possibly even a member of your confir- 
' mation class, make an appointment with him. If it 


a A es 


is any other person whom you desire to win, call in 
person, if at all possible. Letters have usually been 
found to be very poor substitutes for the personal 
touch, for the direct approach. 

When the meeting with the prospect takes place, 
the soul-winner must be altogether clear in his mind 
as to what he wants to present. If he is weak in 
opening the conversation, fidgety and nervous in 
stating what he has to say, the impression will be 
very bad and may spoil the whole effort. If he makes 
a timid start, the result will probably be the same. 
The first sentences should carry with them, and, if 
possible, produce as well, a feeling of pleasure. Flip- 
paney is out of place, and familiarity breeds con- 
_ tempt. The worker should be dignified without being 
sanctimonious. His statements should show confi- 
dence and strength in the best sense of the word. 
First impressions count for very much in the busi- 
ness of soul-winning. 

Secondly: THE PROSPECT’S ATTENTION 
MUST BE ATTRACTED TO THE MESSAGE 
WHICH WE HAVE FOR HIM. 

This step is usually called GETTING THE 
ATTENTION, or getting over on the prospect’s 
side of the fence. The very first thought which 
ought to reach the prospect’s mind is this, that we 
have something of benefit to him, something that 
will interest him; that we can demonstrate to him 
that the proposition which we have to submit will 
enable him to live more happily here, with the as- 
surance of a good conscience and of heavenly peace. 
Sometimes it will make a good impression if, on first 
meeting the prospect, we can say: “Mr. (or Mrs., or 
Miss) , let me assure you from the beginning 
that I have nothing to sell, but I know of a way of 





Pac Paes wane 
happiness which is bound to appeal to you. All men — 
desire happiness, not the kind that lasts for only a 
day or two and is then forgotten, but the kind which 
is connected with security and safety of the most 
lasting kind.” The object in which we are trying to 
interest the prospect is not yet mentioned, but a 
positive suggestion has been made which places the 
possibility of a benefit squarely up to the prospect. 
Notice that at this point we do not in any way put 
our own persons forward, but rather tend to elim- 
inate ourselves as a factor. Every suggestion must 
be positive at this point; for a negative statement is 
apt to put the prospect on his guard, to place him 
on the defensive. 

Thirdly: WE MUST AROUSE THE PROS- 
PECT’S INTEREST. . 

This step is usually called, for short, AROUS- 
ING INTEREST. We keep in mind here that 
there are various kinds of interest. There is an 
involuntary interest, such as that which we feel 
when a bright picture registers, even momentarily, 
on our mind. What we want is to focus or to rivet 
the attention, to make the interest voluntary, to 
present our proposition to the prospect in a way 
which will cause him to listen with eager pleasure. 

At this point we can well make use of curiosity, 
the feeling which desires to become acquainted with 
some new project. If we can excite the pleasure of 
anticipation, the chances are that the interest 
aroused will be of a nature to accept gratefully 
whatever we have to offer. The idea is to hold the 
prospect’s attention until it ripens into a fixed in- 
terest. ; 

Sometimes a quick shift of the approach will suc- 
ceed in arousing the interest, as when a person says: 


fea fs (ararn 


“I’m not interested in your proposition,” and we can 
immediately counter with: “But you will surely be 
interested if I can show you that this will be of great 
benefit to your children.” 

Fourthly: WE MUST CONVINCE THE 
PROSPECT THAT OUR PROPOSITION -IS 
TO HIS ADVANTAGE. 

This step is often designated DEMONSTRAT- 
ING TO THE POINT OF CONVICTION. It 
is not enough that we have the attention of the 
people to whom we are addressing ourselves in our 
soul-winning effort. Nor is it enough that they are 
interested in what we are demonstrating. Our fur- 
ther progress must be such as to carry conviction to 
their minds and hearts. If our statements up to this 
point were good, if we have understood the special 
difficulties of our prospect, if we have brought home 
the necessity of having our message explained, then 
that next little point must be gained. The prospect 
must yield to the extent of thinking or saying, “Yes, 
I believe you are right,” or, “Your proposition ap- 
peals to me.” 

There is no need, at this time, of making com- 
parisons, unless people bring them in by way of ar- 
gument. Our line of talk must still be positive. 
When challenges come, the better way is that which 
Philip chose. When Nathanael said to him, “Can 
there any good thing come out of Nazareth?” Philip 
simply repeated his invitation, “Come and see!” 
John 1,46. The point of conviction for us is not 
to convince the prospect, at the first meeting, that 
the message which we have is the full and whole 
truth, but only that it is good for him to follow our 
invitation. Often people will say, “Undoubtedly 
I ought to go to some church,” or, “Yes, I believe 


— 60 — 


that I ought to send my children to school and 
Sunday-school.” Then it is when we can say, “Come 
and see for yourself!” ; 

Fifthly: WE MUST CAUSE THE PROS- 
PECT, IF POSSIBLE, TO HAVE A DESIRE 
FOR OUR MESSAGE AND ITS CONTENTS. 

This step is usually called CREATING DE- 
SIRE. It is linked up very closely with the preced- 
ing step. The intellect having been brought to an 
understanding, the will must now be engaged. It is 
here that our reserve talk comes in, where we, in 
fact, call up all our resources to clinch the matter 
that we have undertaken. The prospect’s curiosity 
having been maintained to this point, everything 
that is irrelevant must be most rigidly excluded, 
lest the entire undertaking be spoiled by a wrong 
move. 

It is at this stage that objections will very likely 
be encountered. The prospect, being convinced in 
mind, is not quite ready to yield in action. The 
objections may be of a personal nature, either in 
deprecation of the person himself or in attack upon: 
some member of the church. Or the objections may 
be of a eritical nature, concerning the matter that 
is broached. It will take all our skill to avoid dis- 
putes at this point and to offer only clear, positive 
evidence of the truth which we represent. This 
matter will be treated more fully in special chapters. 

Above all, we must not make the mistake of as- 
suming an apologetic attitude at this stage, for that 
is bound to make just the opposite impression from 
that which we desire to convey. There is so much 
at stake that the slightest digression may throw the 
matter back to the starting-point and spoil the en- 
tire effect. 


2 ei 


Sixthly: WE MUST, IF POSSIBLE, ADD TO 
THIS DESIRE A POSITIVE RESOLVE ON 
THE PART OF THE PROSPECT TO POS- 
SESS THE BLESSING OF WHICH WE ARE 
SPEAKING. 3 

This step may be designated briefly as DEVEL- 
OPING THE RESOLVE TO ACCEPT THE 
INVITATION. The desire to come has been 
created, the first step of the yielding has been per- 
formed. But still the prospect hesitates. There is 
a fear which is holding him back. He will come 
with the evasions of procrastination: “I guess 
I won’t do it just now yet,” or, “Oh, I don’t know; 
there’s so much to be considered,” or, “Maybe 
some day.” 

This hesitancy must be overcome by all means; 
for if it is allowed to prevail, it will be necessary for 
the soul-winner to go over the whole ground again, 
and the will of the prospect is weakened by every 
new delay. One may very well meet this hesitancy 
in about this way: “I appreciate your desire to give 
the matter further thought, Mr. , but you are 
really better prepared to make a decision to-day than 
you will be a week or a month from now. You see, 
we have gone over every point very carefully. The 
various points are clearer in your mind than they 
will be later. Your good judgment tells you that to 
decide right HERE and NOW is the wise thing 
to do. It may take a little courage on your part to 
go ahead. You know it is the easiest thing in the 
world to put off making a decision. But you will 
surely agree with me, Mr. , that one of the 
strongest characteristics of prominent and successful 
men is their ability to decide and act after once 








‘— 62 — 


making up their mind that it is the wise thing to do; 
and that is surely what you are going to do. Your 
intelligence, your judgment, tell you that this is the 
thing you ought to do; your feelings and your best 
interests make you realize it. It is only necessary 
for your will to act, and that can be done by your 
simply acting according to your own best judgment 
at once.” 

Seventhly: WE MUST BRING ABOUT FA- 
VORABLE ACTION ON THE PART OF THE 
PROSPECT. 

This step has fitly been called GETTING AC- 
TION. It is the consummation, the climax, of the 
whole procedure. Without this step the whole effort 
is practically wasted. And, as stated. above, the 
danger is that each new failure in the case of any 
one prospect diminishes the chances of winning him. 
It may be necessary to dispense some final informa- 
tion, which will help the will over the last hurdle. 
Above all, only affirmative suggestions are in order 
sat this time. As soon as one says, “I suppose you 
would want a little more time to think it over,” or 
words to that effect, the prospect will grasp the op- 
portunity with relief, if not with delight. 

AVOID ALL NEGATIVE SUGGESTIONS; 
NEVER MAKE ONE DURING THE LAST 
STEPS OF MISSION ENDEAVOR! | 

Now, if we keep in mind exactly how much de- 
pends upon our work, upon the most careful appli- 
cation of the best principles and rules of salesman- 
ship, we shall certainly carry out the suggestions 
which have proved their value through centuries of 
selling. i 

THE TIME IS SHORT! We cannot afford to 


waste any time in foolish experimenting. 


There is one more point that may be added here 
for the sake of completeness. One of the features of 
our present missionary endeavors is the distribution 
of tracts and Bibles. This work is properly carried 
on only in connection with the personal solicitation 
and appeal. And it requires a number of sugges- 
tions which ought to be studied carefully and heeded 
without fail. The most important of these rules are 
the following : — Ey 

1. Read and master the tract before distributing 
it to any person. It may just occur to the prospect 
to ask questions concerning the contents of the tract, 
and it would hardly make a favorable impression 
upon him if you should be obliged to hesitate about 
entering into a conversation about the topic treated 
in the tract. 

2. Be sure to hand the tract to the right person. 
We do not distribute tracts promiscuously and in- 
discriminately. There are few things that so disgust 
a person as being given information on a point on 
which he is already sold or in which he has not the 
slightest interest. 

3. Stamp every tract with the name and address 
of your church or of the pastor of the church. Un- 
less the prospect knows where to turn when he is 
ready to act, the whole effort is wasted. 

4. Carry tracts with you whenever you know you 
will have an opportunity to reach some one. This 
may well be on every trip in or out of the city. 
Many tract organizations are having excellent re- 
sults, due to their custom of distributing tracts in 
street-cars. 

5. Give tracts at the proper time, at the psycho- 
logical moment, when the people, if possible, are in 


'— 64 — 


the right state of mind to receive just that particular 
information. 

6. Never give without a suggestion to read. 
Sometimes it will be advisable to read a portion to 
the prospect, especially if he is not at all inclined to 
read anything of this nature. 

7. Distribute Bibles, Testaments, etc., wherever 
this is possible and will have any show of success. 
A hundred may be given away without results, but 
the next copy may lead a person to Christ. The cost 
is small in comparison with the wonderful possibil- 
ities for good.’ 


And don’t forget: THE TIME IS SHORT! 


CHAPTER VI. 


Because of His Importunity. Luke 11, 8. 
The Need and Power of Prayer. 


One of the most significant, illuminating, and 
stimulating facts about Jesus is that which tells us 
that the Savior made prayer a habit. This is all the 
more remarkable if we consider that this habit on the 
part of the Lord is reported in such a matter-of-fact 
way, without the slightest indication of a false en- 
thusiasm in the incidents or in their recital, that the 
impression of the account is thereby heightened. 
We simply find a wonderful intimacy and fellowship 
existing between Jesus and His heavenly Father, 
which found its expression in the act of prayer, not 
merely as a devotional exercise, but as a form of 
communication by and through which He derived 
the support and the strength which He needed for 
His work. 

In the very first months of His public ministry 


Gy | pak 


in Galilee, shortly after He had made Capernaum 
His headquarters, Jesus, 

“Rising up a great while before day, went out 
and departed into a solitary place and THERE 
PRAYED.” Mark 1, 35. 

And again we are told concerning the Savior that 

“He withdrew Himself into the wilderness and 
PRAYED.” Luke 5, 16. 

When the Lord withdrew to the Mount of Trans- 
figuration, it is expressly stated that He PRAYED. 
Luke 9, 29. . 

When Jesus had fed the five thousand men out in 
the wilderness on the northeastern shore of the Sea 
of Tiberias, His first act, after dismissing the multi- 
tude, is recorded by three of the four evangelists 
telling the story: — 

“He went up into a mountain apart to PRAY.” 
Matt. 14,23; Mark 6,46; Luke 6, 12. | 

Of particular interest in this connection are the 
accounts of the last evening of the Lord’s life. Not 
only do we find Him speaking about prayer and 
instructing His disciples concerning its form and 
proper use, but we have at this time the incompar- 
able high-priestly prayer with its wealth of comfort 
for all Christians. John 17. 

And who would not think at this point of the 
narrative of the Lord’s suffering in Gethsemane? 
We are told that 

“He went a little farther and fell on His face 
and PRAYED.” Matt. 26, 39. 

A few verses farther on: — 

“He went away again the second time and 
PRAYED.’ ¥V. 49. 

“And He left them and went away again and 
PRAYED the third time.” V. 44. 

While It Is Day! 5 


= 6B = 


Op. Mark 14, 35. 39; Luke 22, 41. 

Let us consider for a moment what this means as 
told of our Lord. As Broughton has it: “It has 
always been very striking to me when studying the 
life of Jesus that, however busy He was, He was 
NEVER TOO-BUSY TO PRAY. However closely 
He was beset by problems and difficulties, however 
great might be the press about Him, He never let 
the opportunity slip by to teach by example and pre- 
cept the importance of prayer. I think He often 
left the great crowd and prayed by Himself because 
He wanted to teach that prayer was so very im- 
portant.” 

Now, Jesus was fully aware of the restriction 
which concerns prayer in its relation to earthly, 
temporal things. When His soul desired relief from 
the excruciating torture of a sorrow which brought 
Him face to face with eternal death, He yet bowed 
under the will of His heavenly Father in saying : — 

“Nevertheless, not as I will, but as Thou wilt.” 
Matt. 26, 39. Cp. v. 42. 

But in the same measure as Jesus yielded to the 
will of His heavenly Father in the matter of tem- 
poral relief from the cup whose drinking could not 
be spared Him who had come to be the Savior of 
mankind, He demanded the fulfilment of His re- 
quests at the hand of His God and Father. 

What matchless strength is there in His words: 

“Father, J will that they also whom Thou hast 
given Me be with Me where I am, that they may 
behold My glory which Thou hast given Me; for 
Thou lovedst Me before the foundation of the world.” 
John 17, 24. 

What boldness of speech have we here! WHAT 
IMPORTUNITY! 


we Bp 


And it is precisely this IMPORTUNITY which 
the Lord requires of us in His work that He expects 
us to employ in desiring favors and ,assistance of 
Him. 

“T say unto you, Though he will not rise and give 
him because he is his friend, yet BECAUSE OF 
HIS IMPORTUNITY he will rise and give him as 
many as he needeth.” Luke 11, 8. 

This parable illustrates the meaning of the Lord 
in a most effective manner, especially since it is con- 
nected with one of the occasions when the Lord 
taught His disciples to pray. There should be an 
insistence connected with our prayer which knows 
no failure, which slimply clings to the Lord with the 
importunate declaration : — 

“T will not let Thee go except Thou bless me.” 
Gen. 82, 26. 

The same fact is brought out by the Lord in His 
parable of the widow who was oppressed by her ad- 
versary. If even the unjust judge was constrained 
to say, “I will avenge her lest by her continual com- 
ing she weary me,” Luke 18,5, how much more will 
our loving Father in heaven be ready to lend us the 
full measure of His divine assistance in carrying out 
the work which He Himself has given us to perform! 

This spirit of trust in the efficacy of prayer must 
be ours if we desire to do effective work in carrying 
out the DIVINE COMMISSION. It is in agree- 
ment with the Lord’s own admonitions regarding 
prayer. The Savior Himself bids us:— 

“Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye 
shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. 
For every one that asketh, receiveth; and he that 
seeketh, findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall 
be opened.” Luke 11, 9. 10. 


er” Guess 


His promise is wide and sweeping as long as our 
requests are voiced in agreement with His holy will. 
He says: — 

“Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall 
agree on earth as touching anything that they shall 
ask, it shall be done for them of My Father which is 
in heaven.” Matt. 18, 19. 

Gathered together in the name of the Lord, up- 
held and stimulated by His divine promises, there’ is 
nothing that can daunt us. 

AND THIS IS PARTICULARLY TRUE OF 
SOUL-WINNING. 

If the two component parts of soul-winning, ac- 
cording to Hogben, are: Going to God for sinners, 
and: Going to sinners for God, and both of them 
have the definite promise of God, being in full agree- 
ment with His will, then surely there can be no 
flinching on our part as we go forward to perform 
the task assigned to us. 

Again the Savior tells us: — 

“If ye abide in Me and My words abide in you, 
ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto 
you.” John 15, 7. 

Just as all-embracing, within the limits set above, 
is the other admonition of the Savior: — | 

“Hitherto have ye asked nothing in My name. 
Ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.” 
John 16, 24. 

Particularly impressive is also the statement 
made by the Lord in connection with the lesson 
connected with the drying up of the fig-tree: — 

“Tf ye have faith and doubt not, ye shall not 
only do this which is done to the fig-tree, but also, 
if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed 
and be thou cast into the sea, it shall be done, And 


By ate 


all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believ- 
ing, ye shall receive.” Matt. 21, 21. 22. 

Still more emphatic is the declaration made by 
the Apostle James: — 

“Ye have not because ye ask not. Ye ask, and 
receive not because ye ask amiss.” Jas. 4, 2.3. 

That, indeed, is true: If our prayer is made in 
matters which do not have the approval of the Lord, 
with which His promise is not connected, then we 
can expect no results. But what is more definitely 
in agreement with the will of God and of the Savior 
than the labor of SOUL-WINNING? 

In this connection we must also remember the 
example of the Lord’s saints as told in the Bible. 

What wonderful prayers are those of David, the 
sweet singer of Israel, both those contained in the 
Psalter and those found in the historical books of 
the Old Testament! What a beautiful example is 
that of Daniel, with his faithfulness in making 
known his needs to the one true God! Dan. 6, 10—13. 
How much may be learned from other believers of 
the Old Testament, such as Hannah, the mother of 
Samuel, Elisha, Hezekiah, Jonah, Nehemiah, and 
others! 

Nor is the New Testament less emphatic in set- 
ting forth the need and the advantages of earnest 
prayer in matters which concern the work of the 
Church. The apostles time and again set forth the 
needs of the Church in order to gain the Lord’s 
direct assistance in their work. When Peter and 
John had been imprisoned for the sake of the mes- 
sage which they proclaimed, the entire congregation 
prayed to the Lord with one accord, in a wonderful 
declaration of faith and trust. Acts 4,24—30. When 
Peter had been imprisoned by Herod Agrippa I, the 


congregation of Jerusalem gathered for a meeting of 
prayer at the house of John Mark’s mother. Acts 
12, 12: 

Shall we believe that the effectual fervent prayer 
of the righteous does not avail as much to-day as it 
did in those days? 

Soul-winning is clearly under God’s command, 
agreeing with His direction. How, then, could He 
withdraw His promise at a time when His assistance 
is needed as badly as ever in the history of the 
world?! 

Of course, the work is difficult, and the respon- 
sibility is great. But it is just at this point that we 
have the assurance of His abiding preserice and of 
the gift of the Holy Ghost. 

“If ye, then, being evil, know how to give good 
gifts unto your children, how much more shall your 
heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them 
THAT ASK HIM!” Luke 11, 13. 

“PRAYING ALWAYS with all prayer and sup- 
plication in the Spirit and watching thereunto with 
all perseverance and supplication for all saints.” 
Eph. 6, 18. 

Now, the question has been asked by many 
. workers in the Church, just as it is being asked to- 
day, partly in a spirit of anxiety, partly in a spirit 
of doubt: — 

WHY IS THE PRAYER OF SOUL-WIN- 
NERS NOT MORE EFFECTIVE? 


Various answers may be given according to the 
Bible, and it behooves us to look well to our own 
hearts and the motives which appear in our work. 

Perhaps, when we pray, we have not yet wholly 
given ourselves to the guidance of the Lord. Per- 


My gy ase 


haps there is still some selfishness, some desire for 
honor, some self-righteousness, in our attitude. As 
long as there is some iniquity of this kind in our 
hearts, the Lord will not hear. Ps. 66,18; Job 27, 9. 
Such a condition on our part stands in the way of 
our prayer; it cannot reach the ears of the Lord 
because of the obstacle which we place in its way. 
We are personally responsible for the lack of effec- 
tiveness in our petitions in such a case. 

There is, in the second place, the ineffectual 
prayer due to LACK OF FAITH. Faith, in this 
connection, means trust in the promises of the Lord, 
and it is very definitely connected with saving faith, 
the trust in the forgiveness of sins and in the love of 
God for Christ’s sake. Faith means that we are 
ready to undertake a thing for the Lord even if we 
cannot see and cannot figure out the end and out- 
come of the undertaking before we take the first step. 
God is looking for people, for workers together with 
Him, who are ready to take Him at His word and 
promise, so that He may reward their tryst accord- 
ingly. 

It may be, in the third place, that there is a lack, 
on our part, of free surrender to the will of God. 
God wants us to plan, of course. But the manner of 
carrying out the plan must be in agreement with — 
His Word and promise, not with any false ambition 
on our part. Our projects are often tinged with 
human weakness and with false estimates of men. 
If we should insist upon doing our work only in the 
way according to which we have planned it instead 
of watching for the Lord’s guidance and freely fol- 
lowing every hint thrown out to us, it would be all 
wrong, and we should deserve to fail in our under- 
taking. 


ee Ort 


If these conditions obtain, our prayers are bound 
to be ineffective, and it is entirely our own fault. 
The way was open, and we did not take it. Prayer 
has its promises, which, when observed, achieve its 
purpose. . 

1. Definiteness of aim. It was the singleness of 
purpose of Elias in his prayer which caused it to be 
so powerful. Jas. 5,17. 18. 

2. Spirit-taught desire. It is necessary that we 
believe in the certainty of our aim and be guided by 
the Spirit according to the best interests of the king- 
dom of God. Mark 11,24; Rom. 8, 26. 27. 

3. Inward purity, or the absence of self-righteous 
endeavor. That is what the Lord teaches in Ps. 
66,18; 1 John 3, 19—22. 

4. Unwavering faith. “He that wavereth is like 
a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.” 
Jas, 1, 6. 7; 


5. Appeal in the name and for the sake of Jesus, 
the one Redeemer of mankind. This is a condition 
which is essential, as the Lord clearly says. John 14, 
13.14; 15,16; 16, 23—26. 

WE NEED PRAYER 

a. When we plan our soul-winning campaigns. 
‘It is true that we should and must use our intelli- 
gence and good common sense in making such plans 
and in preparing to carry out the endeavors con- 
nected with them. If we intend to concentrate on 
those who have drifted away, we shall naturally use 
a different approach than if we have in mind the 
needs of the unchurched. There is also a vast dif- 
ference between the various ways of dealing with 
people belonging to the same class of prospects. 
Christ deals altogether differently with the woman 


Bee at, 
of Samaria than with the Syrophenician woman, 
with Peter than with Zacchaeus. But for that very 
reason we need prayer to guide our intelligent en- 
deavors. 

“If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, 
that giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not; 
and it shall be given him.” Jas. 1,5. 

It is strange, but true, that the ways of God often 
differ widely from the ways of men. In this connec- 
tion we may well be reminded of the words of the 
Lord: — 

“My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are 
your ways My ways, saith the Lord. For as the 
heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways 
higher than your ways and My thoughts than your 
thoughts.” Is. 55,8.9. Cp. vv. 10. 11. 


WE NEED PRAYER 

b. When we are considering individuals. It is 
possible, indeed, to divide the prospects into classes, 
and we observe this distinction in a general way in 
planning our campaigns. But soul-winning, in its 
last analysis, is work with the individual, and it is 
for the individual soul that we must pray to the 
Lord. 

The necessity of this becomes evident in all cases 
where former church-members have left the fold or 
are at the point of doing so. It will be of assistance 
to us, of course, if we are acquainted, at least in a 
general way, with the peculiarities of the individual, 
so that we may take these into account in our work. 
Very often the personal equation is the most im- 
portant factor in the winning of a soul. Where the 
increasing lack of interest is due merely to negli- 
gence, we shall handle the situation differently than 


eae 


where some form of hostility to the Church is in any 
manner apparent. But the main point is that which 
is indicated in the Gospel of St. Luke with regard to 
the incident of the denial of Peter. 

“And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan 
hath desired to have you that he may sift you as 
wheat! But I have prayed for thee that thy faith 
fail not; and when thou art converted, strengthen 
thy brethren.” Luke 22, 31. 32. 

Prayer of the right kind will put us into the 
proper mood and attitude of mind in approaching 
the individual, no matter what the peculiar condition 
which must be taken into account. 


WE NEED PRAYER 

ce. When actually going out on our quest for souls. 
This is also true, no matter whether we are consider- 
ing a general campaign or have some particular 
person in mind. A mere physical or intellectual 
courage alone is not sufficient; in fact, this kind of 
courage alone may work great harm if a person 
should rely upon it. But the matter of spiritual 
courage, of a reliance upon the promises of the Lord, 
is a different matter entirely. This presupposes a 
passion for souls such as only the power of God can 
give. One may expect almost anything when en- 
gaged in a systematic mission endeavor: coldness, 
indifference, hostility, scorn, derision, mockery, in 
fact, the whole scale of human weaknesses and 
wickednesses. In spite of such expectations we must 


go forth with unwavering determination to WIN 
SOULS FOR THE LORD. 


WE NEED PRAYER 
d. When approaching the individual. Let us sup- 
pose that all the preliminary steps have been taken, 


pay fy) ote 


that every move has been most carefully mapped out. 
We have begun our work. But here comes the facing 
of one whom we wish to gain for the message of sal- 
_ vation. It just may be that the actual opening of 
the conversation will relieve the strain and that an 
opening will be given which will enable us to bring 
our invitation and to have it accepted with some de- 
gree of willingness. It may be, on the other hand, 
that the reception which is accorded us is anything 
but encouraging, that, in fact, the person addressed 
will fly into a rage. It behooves us, under such cir- 
cumstances, neither to provoke the adversary and 
cause a quarrel nor to beat an undignified retreat, 
unless the latter course is positively the only thing 
left to do. It may often be possible to leave at least 
some good literature. Many a person likes to bluster 
when first approached. It may be possible to find 
a point of contact which will establish friendly rela- 
tions, if not at once, then at a later date. All the 
while, however, the soul-winner will be like Moses. 

“And the Lord said unto Moses, Wherefore criest 
thou unto Me? Speak unto the children of Israel 
that they go forward.” Ex. 14, 15. 


WE NEED PRAYER 

e. In asking for the Holy Spirit and in commend- 
ing the matter to the Lord. This was the special 
comfort with which the Lord sent out His disciples: 

“Tt shall be given you in that same hour what 
ye shall speak. For it is not ye that speak, but the 
Spirit of your Father, which speaketh in you.” Matt. 
10, 19. 20. 

We are not indued with apostolic authority and 
gifts, which were then granted by the direct call of 
the Lord. But we have the means of grace to 


ge ae 


strengthen us, and we have, above all, the Word, 
which gives us full information concerning the way 
of life and concerning all other information needed 
for a life of faith and sanctification. With this - 
knowledge to sustain us, we can cheerfully rely upon 
the help of the Holy Ghost in directing our thoughts 
and minds in speaking to prospects, in trying to 
make them conscious of the gifts of God’s grace in 
Christ Jesus. Prayer will prove a source of power 
under such circumstances, and—we are trying to 


GAIN SOULS FOR THE LORD. 


CHAPTER VII. 
I Am Persuaded. Rom. 8, 38. 


Having the Courage of One’s Convictions. 


The discussion of the present chapter is essential 
for the purpose of this study. It speaks of a most 
important part of the personal equipment of the 
worker for Christ. Without the qualification which 
it implies much of the testifying for Christ is of an 
indifferent, mechanical kind, without the force that, 
in itself, carries the certainty of conviction. 

Luther was wont to refer to a man who was not 
at all times ready to stand up for his convictions 
as a “goft-stepper.” He did not mean to question 
the sincerity of any one, but he felt that some of 
the fundamental principles of the truth were occa- 
sionally sacrificed on the altar of what men would 
like to describe as tact, but which often has its roots 
in a timidity not at all in keeping with the high 
ideals held out by the Word of God. 

“T AM PERSUADED!” Such was the ery of 


EST fs 


the Apostle Paul. The words well represent the 
fundamental thought which actuated the great mis- 
sionary and witness for Christ in his life-work. 
From the hour of his conversion Paul stands out 
from the pages of Holy Writ as a man who knew no 
uncertainty, no vacillation. 

No sooner had Paul received Baptism than we 
read of him: — 

“Straightway he preached Christ in the synagogs 
that He is the Son of God.” Acts 9, 20. 

“Saul increased the more in strength and con- 
founded the Jews which dwelt at Damascus, proving 
that this is very Christ.” V. 22. 

In the very first letter which has been preserved 
from the hands of the great missionary, he writes 
with the directness which ever characterized him: 

“Our Gospel came not unto you in word only, 
but also in power and in the Holy Ghost and in 
much assurance.” 1 Thess. 1, 5. 

A few years later he wrote to the congregation 
at Corinth, which had been founded about the time 
when Paul wrote his letters to the Thessalonians : — 

“My speech and my preaching was not with en- 
ticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration 
of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should 
not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power 
of God.” 1 Cor. 2, 4. 5. 

This from a man who confesses that, for his own 
person, he was with the Corinthians in weakness and 
in fear and in much trembling. Paul may not have 
been a courageous man by nature, and he seems to 
have been affected with some malady which hindered 
him from being at his best at all times. 2 Cor. 12, 7. 

And yet this man, filled with the Spirit of God 
as he was, could speak of the “great boldness of 


Ns pg es 


speech” which he employed in writing to the Corin- 
thians, 2 Cor. 7,4; he could ask the Ephesians: — 

“Pray for me that utterance may be given unto 
me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make 
known the mystery of the Gospel.” Eph. 6, 19. 

It was the same man who could voice his earnest 
expectation and hope: — 

“That in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that 
with all boldness, as always, so now also, Christ 
shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life 
or by death.” Phil. 1, 20. 

No wonder that his friend, the beloved physician 
Luke, could write of him: — 

“Preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching 
those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ, 
with all confidence, no man forbidding him.” 
Acts 28, 31. 

What was the basis of this remarkable boldness 
of the great apostle? Chiefly, as he himself indi- 
cates time and again, the knowledge of his salvation 
grounded in the Word of Truth. All his letters 
breathe this certainty : — 

“T know whom I have believed and am persuaded 
that He is able to keep that which I have committed 
unto Him against that Day.” 2 Tim.1, 12. 

This certainty is expressed also in one of the 
loftiest passages in all the writings of the great 
apostle: — 

“TI AM PERSUADED that neither death nor. 
life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor 
things present nor things to come, nor height 
nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to 
separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ 
Jesus, our Lord.” Rom. 8, 38. 39. 

What a glorious persuasion! How these words 


Ek ee 
“T AM PERSUADED!” ought to stand out before 


us in appeal and admonition to impart to us some of 
the spirit of the great missionary! 

Is it any wonder that Paul was able to face the 
howling mob in the court of the Temple upon the 
occasion of his last visit in Jerusalem? Acts 22. 
Does not this explain the calmness with which he 
answered the charges of the Jews before the tribunal 
of Felix? Acts 24,10. Can we note as much as 
a tremor in him when he uttered his memorable cry, 
“To Caesar I appeal!” Acts 25,11; or when he 
faced the pomp of Agrippa and Bernice in the same 
court a short time afterward, Acts 26? 

And let us consider for a moment just how this 
conviction affected the great witness for Christ in 
his testimony. Not one iota of the truth was he 
willing to give up, no matter what the object or 
the provocation. Not even for one hour would he 
be subject to those who desired to bring him and his 
fellow-workers into bondage, and the entire letter 
to the Galatians is aglow with a holy zeal for the 
upholding of a conviction which was rooted in the 
heart of the Gospel. 

Far from designating the attitude of Paul as 
stubbornness, we must, on the contrary, acknowledge 
it as an expression of a conviction which challenges 
the admiration, and invites the emulation, of every 
true worker for Christ. That blessed assurance 
“TI AM PERSUADED!” made Paul the great mis- 
sionary of the Apostolic Age and one of the greatest 
preachers of all times. 

The greatest teacher of the Church since the 
time of the apostles was Martin Luther, the man 
who rescued the doctrine of justification from the 
oblivion of centuries, giving it once more that posi- 


pate 


tion in the teaching of the Church which has 
focused the attention of the world on Jesus Christ 
as the one and only Savior of mankind. 

What was it that made Luther the great teacher 
of the Church? What was it that gave him such 
a power over the hearts of men? What causes us 
to feel the profound influence of his personality- to 
this day ? 

The answer is, briefly, this: Because Luther had 
the courage of his convictions. Like Paul he had 
grown up in the midst of a religion of self- 
righteousness. In a greater measure than Paul he 
had fought the battle for acceptance in the sight of 
God on the basis of his own merits. From the 
powerful presentation of the great apostle he had 
learned to know the rock foundation of Christian 
faith: the righteousness of Christ revealed in the 
Gospel. 

This knowledge, this understanding, gave Luther 
the remarkable boldness, the awe-inspiring determi- 
nation, which is the outstanding feature of his 
character and work. The great apostle’s mighty 
“T AM PERSUADED!” lived in this lowly Augus- 
tinian, making him one of the greatest heroes the 
world has ever seen. 

Can any one imagine Luther making use of 
subterfuges or proposing compromises? The world 
has paid to Luther the tribute of its admiration on 
account of his fortitude in that supreme test of 
courage and conviction when he was cited to appear 
before the temporal and spiritual princes of the 
world in Worms. The very schoolchildren are able 
to repeat the words which he uttered on that 18th 
day of April, 1521, when he was asked to recant, 


MG cy oat 


Year after year thousands of hearts thrill to the 
ringing defiance of the great Reformer: — 

“My conscience is bound in God’s Word. I can 
or will recant nothing, since it is neither safe nor 
advisable to do aught against conscience. Here 
I stand; I cannot do otherwise. God help me! 
Amen.” i 

But some one may say, It is easy enough to play 
the hero when one has the great mass of the people 
of any country behind him and knows that popular 
sentiment is on his side. To this we answer that 
these factors were not very strong at the beginning 
of the sixteenth century, when princes, kings, and 
emperors ruled with absolute power over their sub- 
jects. But even if we should be willing to make 
this concession, we have other incidents from the 
life of the great Reformer which show that the 
courage of his convictions controlled his actions to 
the exclusion of every selfish consideration. 

Tf ever, during the entire period when the refor- 
matory movement swept through Europe, it would 
have been a matter of expediency to have the Protes- 
tants offer a united front to the forces of the Church 
which was at just that time shutting itself out from 
the truth and going down to the level of a stubborn 
sectarianism, it was when Philip of Hesse arranged 
the Colloquy of Marburg, the first days of October, 
1529. No one would have been more gratified at 
a union of all Protestant bodies than Luther himself. 
But he knew that 
THERE CAN BE NO REAL UNION WITHOUT 

A UNITY ON THE WORD OF GOD! 
In fourteen points an agreement was reached. 


But in the fifteenth point the “different spirit” of 
While It Is Day! 6 


oe Soles 


the Reformed theologians became evident, a spirit 
which would sacrifice the Word of God for the sake 
of man’s reason. To have yielded at this point 
would have meant to set aside the conviction based 
upon a clear understanding of the Word of God. 
Therefore Luther fortified himself by writing the 
very word of the Bible (IS) concerning which the 
controversy was being waged on the table before him. 
And then he held out for the truth, not with con- 
ceited stubbornness, but as a champion of the 
unadulterated oracles of God. 

The mighty “I AM PERSUADED!” would not 
permit him to act differently. 

Shall not we learn from Luther? 


We speak of the faith, that lived in his heart, 
Which caused him from popery’s night to depart, 
Which showed him how futile the precepts of men, 
Which opened the way to God’s mercy again; 

We praise him for preaching this saving faith, 
Confessing his Savior with his last breath. — 
But where would the Church of Luther be 

If Luther had been like you and me? 


We tell of the firmness that Luther showed, 
Though dark was the outlook and stormy the road; 
On God’s own Word his conviction was based, 
And though he earth’s mightiest ruler faced, 

His heart refused from the truth to be led: 

“T cannot do otherwise,” boldly he said. — 

But where would the Church of Luther be 

If Luther had been like you and me? 


In awe we whisper of Luther’s work, 

For never he knew what it meant to shirk; 

His life was spent in serving the Lord, 

And daily he delved in the life-giving Word; 

No task was too great and no study too hard, 

He cheerfully toiled, with no thought of reward. — 
But where would the Church of Luther be 

If Luther had been like you and me? 


ma 3 al 


Yes, indeed, where would it be? And where is 
it going to be in the future, unless we take up this 
business of SOUL-WINNING with the same force 
of the courage of our convictions that we admire 
in Luther? 

The Lord asks us to have this courage of our 
convictions and to carry forward His work with all 
boldness. He does not want us to be 

“Children, tossed to and fro and carried about 
with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men 
and cunning craftiness wherewith they lie in wait 
to deceive.” Eph. 4, 14. 

The Apostle Paul censures the Corinthians se- 
verely on account of their lack of knowledge and 
conviction in the matter of their faith: — 

“And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as 
unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes 
in Christ. I have fed you with milk and not with 
meat; for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, 
neither yet now are ye able.” 1 Cor. 3,1. 2. 

And the writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews 
speaks just as emphatically in reproving his readers 
for their deficiency in this respect: — 

“When for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye 
have need that one teach you again which be the 
first principles of the oracles of God; and are 
become such as have need of milk and not of strong 
meat.... Strong meat belongeth to them that are 
of full age, even those who by reason of use have 
their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.” 
Heb. 5, 12—14. 

There can be no question regarding the Lord’s 
will. He wants people as soul-winners who have 
the knowledge of salvation from His Word and are 


willing to stand up for their convictions. Like a 
trumpet-call the admonition of Peter rings out: — 

“Be ready always to give an answer to every 
man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is 
in you with meekness and fear.” 1 Pet. 3, 15. 

This does not mean that we are at any time to 
brazen it out when we are attacked, but that we be 
informed and that we stand on this information. 

Jude also writes: — 
| “Ye should earnestly contend for the faith which 
was once delivered unto the saints.” V.3. 

This is no small matter, but it is a sacred charge, 
a commission which no believer can evade, as he 
values the Word of his heavenly Father and of his 
Savior Jesus Christ. 


EARNESTLY CONTEND! BE READY! 
STAND UP FOR JESUS! 


Stand up, stand up for Jesus! 
The trumpet call obey; 

Forth to the mighty conflict 

In this His glorious day. 

Ye that are men now serve Him 
Against unnumbered foes; 
Let courage rise with danger 
And strength to strength oppose. 


Give the Lord the best that is in you! Go forth 
in the strength of His might! 

This does not mean that we are going to face 
the world in a challenging manner and with a chip 
on our shoulder. It means, rather, that we take 
up our business of soul-winning with a calm assur- 
ance growing out of a certain knowledge of salva- 
tion as revealed in God’s Word, an assurance which 
in itself is bound to carry conviction. 

Lutheran soul-winners must carry with them this 


as Ohne 


conviction, the definite and invincible assurance, 
that the Word of God is the truth and that the 
salvation which it teaches is the one and only road 
to heaven. 

Lutheran soul-winners must carry with them the 
conviction, the calm certainty, that the Lutheran 
Church, if really worthy of the name, teaches the 
doctrines of the Bible in their full truth and admin- 
isters the Sacraments in agreement with Christ’s 
institution. If this conviction does not live in us, 
we cannot be true soul-winners. 

We do not mean to say at this point that our 
Lutheran Church in its outward form is without a 
flaw. ‘here was once a sect which demanded that 
there be not the slightest foible or weakness in the 
outward appearance and life of the Church and of 
all its members. But this demand was rightly dis- 
countenanced by the teachers of the Church as 
being out of harmony ‘with the manner in which the 
Bible speaks of the outward organization of what we 
call the visible Church. 

But while we must and do admit that there are 
many things in the outward form of the Lutheran 
Church which are not in full agreement with the 
highest demands of sanctification as found in the 
Bible, that the Church as such, as well as its various 
members, fall short in their realization of the 
highest ideals as found in the Bible, we do maintain 
that, by the grace of God, the doctrine of the Evan- 
gelical Lutheran Church is in complete harmony 
with the revealed will of God, with His Word. 

From this it follows that no Lutheran soul- 
winner will ever be found ashamed of his Church; 
for that would mean being ashamed of Christ, by 
whose merey we have the truth in all its purity in 


grerene sy ga 


our Confessions and in our teaching. As workers 
together with God and with His holy apostle we say: 
“T am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ; for 
it is the power of God unto salvation to every one 
that believeth.” Rom. 1, 16. 
Ashamed of Jesus! Just as soon 
Let midnight be ashamed of noon. 


°*Tis midnight with my soul till He, 
Bright Morning Star, bids darkness flee. 


Ashamed of Jesus! that dear Friend 
On whom my hopes of heaven depend! 
No; when I blush, be this my shame, 
That I no more revere His name. 


The soul-winner who is thus equipped will, as 
a matter of conviction, be opposed to unionism. We 
are fully aware of the fact that the Lord has those 
that are His own wherever His Word is still taught, 
even if this be not in full purity. There are true 
children of God in sectarian congregations as long 
as the Bible is still used in their midst. 

But from this fact it does not follow that we can 
fellowship with sectarian churches, or that we can 
gloze over the differences in doctrine which separate 
the various Christian church-bodies. The words of 
our Savior are too clear and too direct to be 
set aside. \ 

“Beware of false prophets, which come to you 
in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening . 
wolves.” Matt. 7, 15. 

“Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbe- 
lievers. For what fellowship hath righteousness 
with unrighteousness? And what communion hath 
light with darkness?... Wherefore come out from 
among them and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and 
touch not the unclean thing.” 2 Cor. 6, 14.17. 


We may very well, for our own person, have the 
conviction that a certain member of another church 
is a true Christian, and his confession may, in every 
respect, agree thereto. But as long as such a person 
is still a member of a false chureh-body, that is, of 
one which openly holds a doctrine or doctrines not 
in agreement with Scripture, then we cannot fellow- 
ship with such a person in public worship as long as 
unity of doctrine has not been openly established. 

The word is too plain: “TOUCH NOT THE 
UNCLEAN THING!” 

Let us also not be deceived by specious arguments 
for unionism. It has been said, All the Christian 
church-bodies want to get to the same heaven; there- 
fore let us forget all differences and live in harmony 
and peace. But there is a big difference between 
desiring to get somewhere and getting there. One 
may want to get to Chicago from St. Louis, but if 
he starts out in a southeasterly instead of a north- 
easterly direction, all his good intentions will avail 
him nothing. 

“Can two walk together except they be agreed ?” 
Amos 38, 3. 

We must watch particularly with regard to our 
own church connection. While one may get to 
heaven with a minimum of the Christian truth, such 
as may be offered in many Christian denominations, 
the fact that the Lutheran Church holds the maxi- 
mum of truth makes it imperative that we Lu- 
therans be satisfied with nothing but the full and 
complete truth. 

If a person has all his life drunk nothing but 
water with some solution of poison in it, his body 
may have become immune to the poison or may be 
able to throw off its evil effects. But one who 


pilus {°). 


knows pure water cannot deliberately choose such as 
contains some poison. If a person has two glasses 
vf water before him, one strictly pure, the other with 
just enough poison in it likely to kill him, he would 
be committing suicide if he drank the latter. 

Thus it is with us. We have the truth, the full 
truth. We cannot afford to be satisfied with less 
than the full truth. Moreover, the conviction of 
our glorious possession must live in us and emanate 
from us, not in a spirit of intolerance and fanat- 
icism, but of a certainty resting in the Word of 
God. If we go out as soul-winners with this attitude 
to guide us, then the conviction living in our hearts 
will in itself carry conviction to others; for they 
will not easily withstand the impression of the holy 
persuasion with which we go about 


OUR FATHER’S BUSINESS! 


CHAPTER VIII. 


By All Means Save Some! 1 Cor. 9, 22. 
Meeting the Unchurched. 


BETWEEN SIXTY AND SIXTY-FIVE PER 
CENT. OF OUR TOTAL POPULATION HAS 
NO CHURCH AFFILIATION! 

Read that sentence again, for we shall consider 
it once more in connection with the object of the 
present chapter. It is a fact which, somehow, must 
sink into our consciousness by degrees. It means 
that an average of six or seven out of every ten 
persons whom we see on the streets, whom we meet 
on our travels, with whom we deal in a business way, 


ARE NOT EVEN NOMINALLY CHRISTIANS! 


This consciousness is bound to work in us the 
attitude of St. Paul when he wrote, by the inspira- 
tion of the Holy Ghost, the significant words: — 

“T am made all things to all men that I might 
BY ALL MEANS SAVE SOME!” 1 Cor. 9, 22. 

The connection in which we find these words is 
characteristic of the apostle. We find him, in the 
tirst place, asserting with all vehemence his freedom. 
No apostle has emphasized this factor more strongly, 
as when he ealls out to the Galatians: — 

“Stand fast, therefore, in the liberty wherewith 
Christ hath made us free and be not entangled again 
with the yoke of bondage!” Gal. 5,1. 

If any one was foolish enough to believe his good 
works were sufficient to earn anything for him in 
the sight of God, Paul was invariably the first one 
to disillusion him. 

And yet, by a strange apparent paradox, Paul 
writes : — 

“Though I be free from all men, yet have I made 
myself servant unto all THAT I teenie GAIN 
THE MORE!” 1 Cor. 9, 19. 

It is the wonderful truth which Luther also 
emphasized when he said that a Christian is “free 
from all and no man’s servant, but that he is, at 
the same time, subject to all and every man’s 
servant.” 

In the field of justification there is only one fact 
that stands out, namely, the unmerited grace of God 
in Christ, Jesus, our Savior. In the domain of 
sanctification the highest ideal is that set forth by 
Christ: “Whosoever will be great among you, let 
him be your minister; and whosoever will be chief 
among you, let him be your servant.” Matt. 20, 
26. 27. 


See OA ee 


That was the guiding principle of Paul’s life, 
as he briefly shows in describing his manner of 
work. To the Jews he became a Jew in order to 
win the Jews. Without denying or setting aside one 
word of the eternal Truth, he accommodated his 
methods to the circumstances in which he found 
himself, always with the intention of winning souls 
for Christ. He did this in the case of Timothy, 
Acts 16,3, in that of the Jews at Jerusalem, since 
some of the weaker Christians in that city were 
becoming suspicious of his work, Acts 21, 23ff., and 
in other instances. Wherever Paul found that he 
could yield to weakness and to present lack of 
information without sacrificing the eternal Truth, 
he was very ready so to do. 

To those under the Law, whether they belonged 
to the Jewish nation or to the Gentiles (mainly 
circumcised Gentiles), he became as one under the 
Law in order to gain those under the Law. He was 
willing to conform to the customs, modes of life, 
and methods of instruction in vogue among them 
as long as these matters were really things indif- 
ferent. At the same time he never denied the truth 
or acted in a two-faced manner. 

To those without the Law, that is, to the heathen 
in the strict sense of the word, he became as without 
the Law, although, as he says, for his own person 
he was bound under the Law of Christ and was ever 
eager to do His will in order to gain those without 
the Law. When in a heathen community, Paul did 
not practise the Jewish customs in which he had 
been trained, for this would merely have antagonized 
the Gentiles; he omitted all reference to regulations 
of the Old Testament which were strictly Jewish in 
character. 


obs. Qiaets 

To the weak the apostle became weak in order 
to gain the weak. His loving insight and gentle 
tact enabled him to understand the scruples and 
weaknesses of those who had not as yet made much 
headway in Christian knowledge. If the funda- 
mental principles of redemption were not subverted, 
Paul was ready to exercise patience and kindness to 
the highest degree. And all this he did because the 
love of Christ was the motive for all his actions. 
He was possessed of a life of the spirit implanted in 
his Savior and anxious to demonstrate itself in the 
service of his fellow-men everywhere. 

We, as WORKERS TOGETHER WITH GOD, 
must learn from Paul, the great missionary, not to 
despise any one nor to permit disgust over foolish 
weaknesses and over lack of spiritual information 
and knowledge to enter our hearts. It is a wonderful 
summary which we find here: — 

“TO ALL MEN I HAVE BECOME ALL 
THINGS IN, ORDER BY ALL MEANS TO 
SAVE SOME!” 

This is the spirit that appears in the history of 
missions, especially in that of the early Church. It 
explains the consecration with which men and 
women bore witness to the Gospel of Christ. Their 
attitude is well exemplified in the case of Peter and 
John and their challenging statement: — 

“Whether it be right in the sight of God to 
hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye. 
For WE CANNOT BUT SPEAK THE THINGS 
WHICH WE HAVE SEEN AND HEARD.” 
Acts 4, 19. 20. } 

This spirit explains also the humility which we 
find in the early workers, with St. Paul at their head, 
who exclaimed in a passionate outburst : — 


pA OOPS 


“Unto me, who AM LESS THAN THE LEAST 
OF ALL SAINTS, is this grace given that I should 
preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches 
of Christ.” Eph. 3, 8. 

Now let us return to the first statement of the 
present chapter. Let us try to realize the fact that 


BETWEEN SIXTY AND SIXTY-FIVE PER 
CENT. OF OUR ENTIRE POPULATION 


is not even nominally Christian. This means, ac- 
cording to the Religious Census of the United 
States, that so many people in our country do not 
profess to be members of any so-called Christian 
church-body, neither Protestant (in the widest sense 
of the term) nor Catholic. It means that they have 
no connection with any Church of any type, except, 
perhaps, that their children occasionally attend some 
Sunday-school. 

It seems almost unbelievable that this should be 
so, that the many thousands and even millions of 
our fellow-men and fellow-citizens should declare 
that they are not personally interested in the Chris- 
tian religion in even its broadest aspect; but the 
figures are available for the entire United States, 
also in the annual figures furnished by Dr. Carroll. 
It has been stated that between fifteen and twenty 
million children in our country are without any 
instruction in the truths of Christianity. 

What is most surprising in the situation, perhaps, 
is this, that figures coming from rural and semirural 
districts are not materially different in their totals 
from those of the larger cities. Many a small city, 
even many a town, shows the same proportion of 
unchurched as the large cities. It seems strange 
that hundreds and thousands of people can daily 


el. Ry as 


hear church-bells, see church-spires, pass by churches 
which extend their invitations in various ways, and 
yet never make a move to investigate the claims of 
the Church as being an institution for soul-winning. 

Now, it has been said by some church-members 
that people in this country who are born, grow up, 
live, and die almost within the shadow of a church- 
steeple have only themselves to blame if they are 
lost. This is true enough from God’s standpoint. 
He expects all men, even on the basis of the slight 
remnant of the natural knowledge of God (Rom. 
1,18 ff.) to “seek the Lord, if haply they might feel 
after Him and find Him.” Acts 17, 27. 

But this is God’s privilege, God’s prerogative. It 
does not excuse us from doing the work laid upon 
us by the DIVINE COMMISSION when the Lord 
tells us: “GO YE!” 

The UNCHURCHED PEOPLE of America, of 
any country, are a CONSTANT CHALLENGE 
TO ALL TRUE BELIEVERS! We simply MUST 
go out and meet them! 

We must meet the OUT-AND-OUT HOSTILE. 
We must remember, in all our work for the Lord, 
that “the carnal mind is enmity against God,” Rom. 
8,7, that is, all men by nature are in a state of 
enmity, or hostility, against the Gospel. No man 
can by his own reason and strength be interested 
in the Gospel as the message of salvation. But to 
this natural aversion against the doctrine of full 
and free redemption is often added a positive hos- 
tility, which aims at the direct destruction of the 
Gospel news and of its witnesses. 

We meet people of this type even without special 
effort on our part, and we shall certainly meet many 
more if we engage more generally in specific mission 


endeavors. Have you ever tried to sound people 
with whom you are associated in business, with whom 
you are working together, whom you meet time and 
again in a social way? It is so easy, with the modern 
form of church publicity, to establish a point of 
contact, either for positive or for negative results. 
One has but to exhibit a pulpit program, a Lenten 
folder, or some other printed material referring to 
church activity, with the question, “This will prob- 
ably interest you?” in order to get some sort of 
reaction. 

In the case of men and women who have grown 
up without church connection the result of even a 
casual remark may often yield decided results in 
establishing a point of contact. The opening may 
lead to a discussion of ehurch-work and of church 
activities, which may result in WINNING a soul 
for Christ. The thing to do is to overcome the 
diffidence, the lack of courage, which is our besetting 
weakness. 

The most difficult people belonging to this group 
are such as have fallen away from church; for these 
are often filled with a bitterness and a hatred for 
everything connected with church and church activi- 
ties which amounts to an obsession. The task is 
made more difficult in this case by the fact that 
personal matters often enter into the complication 
of circumstances, and the people concerned are not 
in a condition to discuss church-matters with any 
probability of blessing to themselves. 

What we try to do, if this is in any way possible, 
is to place the suggestion of church in the minds of 
those with whom we come in contact here. If we 
can get enemies of the Gospel merely to listen to an 
invitation to come to church or to accept a written 


Ghee. 


program of church services, something, at least, is 
gained. It is necessary to be careful, of course, lest 
we cast the pearls of the Gospel before spiritual 
swine. If a number of people are present and all 
of them are in a mood for mockery, we should, 
indeed, confess our faith, but it would be foolish to 
provoke a string of mockery which will not serve the 
cause of the Gospel. In such eases, however, a word 
of warning, such as we find in the Bible, may well 
be left in the hearts of the enemies, such as the 
statement of Stephen: “Ye do always resist the 
Holy Ghost,” or the reference of St. Paul to the 
stubbornness of the human heart: “Neither murmur 
ye as some of them also murmured,” 1 Cor. 10, 10, or 
that impressive warning : — 

“Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, 
in the day of temptation in the wilderness.” 
Heb. 3, 8. 

We must meet the INDIFFERENT. This is 
a difficult class to deal with. It is hard to mold 
a statue out of treacle. When people simply assume 
the position that they are not interested and do not 
care to become interested, it is hard to make an 
impression. It is here that salesmanship for the 
Lord counts for very much. In fact, if there is such 
a thing as consecrated ingenuity or its equivalent, . 
it is needed at this point. Two points may be re- 
membered in this connection. 

The first is that our invitation must be’attractive. 
Just as we try to give a certain appeal to our houses 
of worship and to the outward form of our worship, 
in line with the highest treasures of our liturgical 
and hymnological heritage, so we, in a thoroughly 
dignified manner and yet with the idea of arousing 
interest, present our printed invitations. The proc- 


as Oe 


lamation of the Word of God is the center, the 
climax, of our church services. But if an invitation, 
carefully worded and tactfully presented, will arouse 
some unchurched person to such a state of interest 
as to bring him to church and cause him to hear 
the Gospel, the effort is not only justifiable, but it 
is to be commended most highly. 

The second point is that of persistence. A person 
with whom we are dealing may promise five, ten, 
twenty times to come and always forget or let his 
indifference guide him. But it just may be, under 
the Spirit’s gracious sway, that he will come the 
sixth or the eleventh or the twenty-first time. When 
Monica, the pious mother of Augustine, was ready to 
despair because she had, for so many years, tried 
to gain her son for Christ and had failed, she was 
very properly consoled with the words: “It is im- 
possible that a son regarding whom so many prayers 
have arisen be lost!” Her persistence won the day. 

We must meet the “BLUE-DOMERS.” These 
are the people who are influenced falsely by the 
present movement “back to nature.” The movement 
has much to conimend it; for it tends to bring 
people out into the open, to God’s great out-of-doors, 
into the fresh air, the uncontaminated sunshine, 
. where they may observe some of the miracles of 
God’s fatherly hand at first hand and get some ap- 
preciation of the goodness of Him who “maketh His 
sun to rise on the evil and on the good and sendeth 
rain on the just and on the unjust.” Matt. 5, 45. 

But there is a great danger connected with the 
movement, and that danger is becoming more ap- 
parent with the increasing number of motorists. 
Even church-members and former church-members 
are being infected with the automobile fever over 


the week end; how much more such as have never 
been interested in church! Since many of these 
have adopted the phrase about “worshiping the 
Creator under the. blue dome of heaven,” they have 
been designated ‘“blue-domers.” 

Now we are altogether ready to concede that it 
is possible to worship God out in the open. Many 
of the mission-festivals which are celebrated out in 
the open have brought rich returns in blessings. 
But the fact is that the “blue-domers” are not think- 
ing of services with the preaching of the Word out 
in the open, their interest being entirely in the 
“open,” and not at all in the “worshiping,” although 
they may occasionally exclaim over the beauty of 
,some landscape. ! 

In speaking to people of this type, it is neces- 
sary to emphasize the means of grace which the Lord 
has given to men, and to mention the advantage of 
using these means under the most orderly circum- 
stances. This does not imply an immense cathedral 
with all the appointments which the love and the 
wealth of the members can afford; for one may serve 
the Lord just as well in a small chapel, in a store- 
room, or in a dug-out. But the Lord’s will with 
regard to assemblies of Christians for the sake of 
hearing His Word is very plain: — 

“Where two or three are gathered together in 
My name, there am I in the midst of them.” 
Matt. 18, 20. 

“Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves to- 
gether, as the manner of some is.” Heb. 10, 25. 

“He that is of God heareth God’s words.” John 
8, 47. 

“Blessed are they that hear the Word of God and 
keep it.” Luke 11, 28. 

While It Is Day! 7 


o> Ry 


We must meet the spiritual FREE-LANCKES, 
that is, the people who flit from one church to an- 
other, without ever becoming members anywhere. 
In the parable of the fourfold seil the Lord speaks 
of seed that fell upon stony places, where there was 
little earth. 

“And forthwith they [the seeds] sprang up be- 
cause they had no deepness of earth; and when 
the sun was up, they were scorched; and because 
they had no root, they withered away.” Matt. 13, 5. 6. 

The Lord here speaks of those who believe for 
a short time. We may well apply His words also 
to such as never take root in church. Many of these 
unchurched people are like the Athenians of Paul’s 
day, who were ever on the alert to hear some new, 
thing. Acts 17,21. They are guided by the desire to 
hear some alleged pulpit orator, or to be found in 
some beautiful modern temple of worship, or to be 
associated socially with the more prominent people 
in the community. They consider the churches like 
sO Many spiritual restaurants, but they never com- 
mit themselves definitely to any one of these houses. 

It is usually not difficult to interest such people 
in church matters or church activities as such. The 
difficulty is to have them come out one way or the 
other with a definite platform of belief and faith. 
Their behavior is not in agreement with the Word 
of God, which clearly speaks of congregations or 
parishes, which expects us to identify ourselves with 
a church of the pure Word and Sacraments. His 
command is clear: — 

“Obey them that have the rule over you and 
submit yourselves; for they watch for your souls as 
they that must give account.” Heb. 13, 17. 

Sometimes it is possible to reach prospects of 


i GONS*. 


this kind with an argument concerning the breaking 
down of character on account of such practises. It 
is not the person who changes opinions and views 
like his clothes who will command respect, but the 
man with definite ideas. 

“It is a good thing that the heart be established 
with grace.” Heb. 13, 9. 

The most difficult group, in a certain way, is 
that of the HESITANT. There are some people 
who always just about make up their minds to be 
church-members, but draw back just at the last 
moments, usually with some sort of flimsy excuse. 
Sometimes this is due to vacillation, pure and 
simple, and then it may sometimes be necessary “‘to 
make up their minds for them.” In other words, we 
must watch for the opportune time and then push 
the idea of joining to its consummation. It is just 
at this point that the last step in salesmanship is 
important. 

It may be advisable, for the sake of just such 
timid souls, to refer prospective members, not to an 
“adult catechumen class” or even to a “church- 
membership class,” but to a “class for the discussion 
of Bible truths,” or to the “Bible searchers,” or even 
to the “Bible class.” Since it is a fact that some 
unchurched people shy at the name “catechumen 
class,” why should we not meet them halfway by 
simply choosing a name similar to some of those 
just suggested ? 

Sometimes the hesitation is due to the fact that 
a person is secretly addicted to some sin which he 
finds himself unable to combat successfully. Very 
often just such a person needs the advice and the 
assistance of a consecrated Christian, possibly of a 
pastor, who can impart such strength from Scrip- 


ee Ly ares 


tures to the unfortunate prospect as to cause him 
to decide definitely for church-membership and all 
its privileges. 

Above all, the SOUL-WINNER will, at this 
point, study ever more willingly and diligently the 
great examples of our Savior in dealing with men 
and women with whom He came in contact. Of the 
frankly unchurched with whom He dealt we have 
the woman of Samaria, the Syrophenician woman, 
and the demoniac of the Gadarene region. Our 
main line of attack will always be the invitation, 
issued in thousands of forms and with patient repe- 
tition : — 

“COME AND SEE!” 

And let us never forget to put the matter into 
the hands of God, who alone is able, through His 
Holy Ghost, to change the unwilling enemies to 
willing disciples. 


CHAPTER IX. 


Patient Toward All Men. 1 Thess. 5, 14. 
Meeting Objections of the Wrongly Informed. 
As WORKERS TOGETHER WITH GOD 


much of our work will naturally concern the un- 
churched; in fact, this is the only part of our work 
in which we can be aggressive, in which we can and 
should take the initiative. 

Lutheran soul-winners are not proselyters. In 
all our work we follow the admonition of the apostle: 

“LET NONE of you suffer ...as a BUSY- 
BODY in other men’s matters.” 1 Pet. 4, 15. 

We find that the Apostolic Church was ever most 
careful in avoiding this offense, according to which 


— 101 — 


men break into the herd of another and steal his 
sheep. The transgression is commonly known as 
“sheep-stealing” and is rightly detested by all such 
as uphold the dignity of the Church and the rights 
of the Lord’s servants. The demand of the Lord is 
simply this, that we should not take the initiative in 
getting people to join our church who are members 
of any Christian denomination, not only of another 
congregation of our own church, but of any church 
of which we have evidence that it is still rightly 
designated as a Christian church. This means, gen- 
erally speaking, acceptance of the Bible as the Word 
of God, belief in the Triune God of Scriptures and 
in Jesus Christ as the only Redeemer of mankind, 
and the use of the means of grace in public worship. 
In this sense we regard all the Reformed bodies 
(Presbyterians, Episcopalians, Baptists, Methodists, 
Christian Reformed, etc), with the exception of the 
Campbellites, as well as the Catholics, as Christian 
bodies. But we do not so regard the Unitarians, the 
Universalists, the Mormons, the Christian Scientists, 
the Spiritualists, and many other bodies of the same 
kind, for all of these deny the Trinity of the Bible. 

With regard to members of non-Christian bodies 
the same rules are observed as apply to the un- 
churehed. With regard to such as are members of 
a body which causes us to regard it as Christian we 
follow the rule of Holy Writ which states that we 
are not to interfere, not to take the initiative in get- 
ting their members to join our Church. It is most 
fortunate, as one Church Father puts it, that “the 
ears of the hearers in such denominations are often 
purer than the lips of their teachers”; that is, by 
the grace of God and the enlightenment of the Holy 
Spirit, many false statements made by their teachers 


— 102 — 


are stripped of their falseness in being transmitted 
to the hearers, or many of the latter rely upon the 
Word which they study at home and promptly forget 
the incorrect teaching which was brought them in 
their own church. 

At the same time we welcome such people if they, - 
of their own initiative, come to our services or ap- 
proach us in their search for the full truth. Since, 
by the grace of God, we are in possession of the 
full truth in Christian doctrine, we are UNDER 
THE OBLIGATION OF LOVE to impart this 
blessing to all who seek it. That is the object of all 
our advertising, to call the attention of men to the 
saving truth which we possess and which should by 
us be made known to others. Even if such people 
are, at first, only visitors at our services, we bid them 
a cordial welcome, asking them to judge for them- 
selves whether we teach the full truth of the Bible 
or not. Of the people of Berea it is stated with 
approval: — 

“These were more noble than those in Thessa- 
lonica, in that they received the Word with all 
readiness of mind and searched the Scriptures daily 
whether those things were so.” Acts 17, 11. 

We take the same attitude with regard to those 
who approach us privately or who broach the subject 
of religion and of Christian doctrine in a conversa- 
tion anywhere. This gives us an opportunity to 
testify for the truth, and our testimony may prove 
the entering-wedge for the Gospel-message in all its 
purity. 

The Apostle Paul indicates to us in what spirit 
the work with the wrongly informed should be ear- 
ried on. 


— 103 — 


“Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are 
unruly, comfort the feeble-minded | faint-hearted], 
support the weak, BE PATIENT TOWARD ALL 
MEN!” 1 Thess. 5, 14. 

The spirit of Paul was the spirit of Christ. Jesus 
also hated sin, but loved the sinner, not with a weak 
sentimentality, but with an unspeakable yearning for 
the salvation of his soul. And therefore we, too, 
must let the same mind dwell in us. While we are 
impatient for the glory of the Lord and jealous for 
the full truth of the Bible, we are PATIENT 
WITH THE WEAKNESS AND THE DULNESS 
of men in spiritual matters. 

We have the background of hundreds of years of 
sound Gospel-preaching; we have the background of 
a thorough indoctrination, preferably in a Christian 
day-school; we have the background of church cus- 
toms which are hallowed by centuries of use and 
have a significance which has endeared them to us. 

But now people come to us who are wrongly in- 
formed concerning many of these facts. Others 
begin to argue with us on the basis of a false preju- 
dice. And very contradictory statements indeed are 
those that come to our attention. One says: “Why, 
you Lutherans are just like the Catholics; you have 
altars in your churches, and you use the cross in 
your services.” Others say: “You Lutherans are 
just like the Presbyterians, or like the Methodists — 
you are so strict with regard to worldly amuse- 
ments.” The number of objections which have been 
voiced might be continued almost indefinitely. 

A Lutheran SOUL-WINNER ought to be in a 
_ position to meet such objections; for it is not at all 
difficult so to do, especially if one uses a little com- 
mon sense. 


— 104 — 


If the objection concerns our ~Christian DAY- 
SCHOOLS, we can readily point to the fact that 
hundreds of the foremost educators of our country 
have declared that an education without religion, 
without the Word of God, is deficient in an essential 
point. We are merely following the injunction of 
the Word of God in indoctrinating our children. 
We may, in this connection, make good use of 
various tracts published by Concordia Publishing 
House and by the American Lutheran Publicity 
Bureau. 

If people find it strange that we have altars in 
our churches, we ought to point out to them that the 
altar in our churches is nothing but a table for the 
celebration of the Eucharist. The pictures and 
statues which we have on our altars are not used for 
idolatrous purposes, and everything that is in itself 
objectionable in such pictures has been eliminated. 
We ought to be acquainted, in this connection, with 
the labors of Luther to purify the services of the 
Church. This information is available in some of 
our own publications. 

If people object to the use of the cross on our 
churches and as a token of remembrance, reminding 
us of the bitter suffering and the vicarious death of 
our Savior, we ask them whether they are ashamed 
of this token and its significance. We ascribe no 
magical power to the sign of the cross, but use it 
merely as a remembrance of the miracle of our re- 
demption. Fortunately the senseless opposition to 
the use of the cross is disappearing, and we find it. 
in use on many Reformed church-buildings. 

If people object to the use of gowns by our pas- 
tors, we can readily point out to them that our pulpit 


— 105 — 


gowns have been retained with a very good liturgical 
reason. The pastor, in his official position, espe- 
cially as preacher and celebrant of the Holy Com- 
munion in the church, is acting not for his own 
person, but by virtue of his eall and as the repre- 
sentative of Christ. Therefore even his ordinary 
clothes are covered and his own person is eliminated 
as much as possible. No individual performance is 
permissible in a Lutheran church, and therefore even 
the messenger of the Lord indicates by his gown 
that he declares his message to be: “Thus saith the 
Lord.” 

If people object to our unequivocal stdnd with 
regard to worldliness and carnal amusements, we are 
in a position to tell them that our Church does not 
think of condemning anything that is permitted in 
Scriptures. In the prohibition discussion and many 
other topics which have agitated the minds of church 
people in this country and elsewhere we were able to 
maintain a calm aloofness simply because we adopted 
the standpoint of the Bible. 

There may be many another point which will be 
injected into a discussion by the wrongly informed 
with regard to outward forms and ceremonies or 
with regard to the so-called position of the Lutheran 
Church on questions agitating the public mind, but 
in practically every case the well-informed Lutheran 
soul-winner will be able to meet the objection or at 
least parry the attack until he has gained further 
information for himself. 

HENCE THE NEED OF CLASSES FOR 
THE INFORMATION AND INSTRUCTION 
OF SOUL-WINNERS. Let everything be done 


under the auspices of the congregation —if possible, 


-—  106.-— 


under the personal direction of the pastor, who pos- 
sesses all or much of the information needed or 
knows where he may-get additional information on 
short notice! 

But there is another class of people to be con- 
sidered here, namely, those who are WRONGLY 
INFORMED with regard to the DOCTRINES 
OF THE BIBLE. Some of these are seeking the 
truth and come to us with open minds. Others adopt 
a more or less challenging attitude, which demands 
“to be shown.” WE OUGHT TO BE IN A POSI- 
TION TO SHOW THEM. Every Lutheran soul- 
winner ought to be sufficiently well informed regard- 
ing the fundamental doctrines of the Bible to be 
able, if need be, to point out the falseness of the 
sectarian position. 

With regard to members of non-Christian organ- 
izations, who usually adorn themselves with the 
Christian name, our position is clear. They are to 
be regarded as being entirely outside the pale of 
Christianity, our approach, in their case, being al- 
most entirely the same as in the case of pagans. It 
may not always be wise to state in so many words 
that the prospect cannot be considered a Christian, 
for he may regard himself as such, not having the 
slightest notion wherein the essence of the Christian 
faith consists. But our manner of dealing with 
such people will be in the nature of patient instruc- 
tion concerning the fundamentals of saving faith, 
especially the doctrine of justification. 

When members of the Roman Catholic Church 
come to us, we often find that they are already con- 
vineed of the falseness of many claims made by the 
Pope. Our task is not so much an emphasizing of 


— 107 — 


that which is wrong in the Roman Church as in 
bringing out the beauty and the glory and the com- 
fort of the Bible doctrine as taught in the Lutheran 
Church. But it is well to have on hand some of the 
chief Secripture-passages directed against the out- 
standing abuses in Romish doctrine and life. With 
regard to the doctrine of works and self-righteous- 
ness as officially held in the Pope’s Church we re- 
member : — 

“We conclude that a man is justified by faith, 
without the deeds of the Law.” Rom. 3, 28. 

“By grace are ye saved, through faith; and that 
not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not of works, 
lest any man should boast.” Eph. 2, 8. 9. 

With regard to the worship of Mary as practised 
in the Catholic Church, we keep in mind Mary’s own 
words expressing her need of a Redeemer: — 

“My spirit hath rejoiced in God, my Savior.” 
Luke 1, 47. 

And with regard to the other saint-worship of 
the Catholic Church, we ought to remember the pas- 
sage from the story of Cornelius and Peter: — 

“And as Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him 
and fell down at his feet and worshiped him. But 
Peter took him up, saying, Stand up; I myself also 
am aman.” Acts 10, 25. 26. 

If Catholics accuse us of not acknowledging good 
works, we may safely refer them to the statements 
of our Confessions on this point, for they agree ex- 
actly with the demand of the Bible: — 

“In Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth 
anything nor uncircumcision, but FAITH, WHICH 
WORKETH BY LOVE.” Gal. 5, 6. Cp. vv. 1—5d. 

With regard to the REFORMED church-bodies 
in general, we ought to remember that the “different 


WA FOR i ce 


spirit” of which Luther complained at Marburg, in 
1529, consists chiefly in this, that. they have permit- 
ted reason to be the judge of Scriptures. It was this 
point which proved the decisive factor and which 
has definitely kept the Lutheran and the Reformed 
churches apart; for the so-called United-Evangelical 
Church of Germany and other countries is not 
a homogeneous mass, but a conglomeration. 

God does not want us to deny or set aside human 
reason in dealing with the eternal truths of His 
Word, but, as St. Paul has it: — 

“Bringing into captivity every thought to the 
obedience of Christ.” 2 Cor. 10, 5. 

That is to say: The greater wisdom is God’s, 
as reason itself must acknowledge. What we are 
to do is to accept the divine truths without question, 
knowing that they are essentially above and beyond 
our reason. 

“We preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews 
a stumbling-block and unto the Greeks foolishness, 
but unto them which are called, both Jews and 
Greeks, Christ the Power of God and the Wisdom 
of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser 
than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than 
men.” 1 Cor. 1, 28—25. 

As far as the CHRISTIANS, or CAMPBELL- 
ITES, are concerned, it is rather difficult to fix their 
status, since they disclaim any confessions. Natu- 
rally we turn to their publications, only to find that 
there are indications pointing to a denial of the 
Trinity of the Bible. But the situation, on the 
whole, may be said to be not quite that bad. That 
is, individual congregations and individual members 
of Campbellite congregations may be sincere enough 
in their confession of Christianity. If they are, we 


— 109 — 


must deal with them partly on the basis of what has 
been said regarding Reformed bodies in general, 
partly on the basis of what must be kept in mind 
concerning the Baptists. 

The necessity of meeting the BAPTISTS with 
clear arguments from Scripture is apparent almost 
every day. Their viewpoint, in general, is that of 
the Reformed bodies, but their very particular char- 
acteristic is that connected with Baptism, especially 
their rejection of child baptism and their insistence 
upon immersion as the only correct form of baptism. 

_In rejecting the baptism of children, the Bap- 
tist bodies are pretty well a unit in declaring that 
the command to baptize does not concern children 
and that children can have no faith. They like to 
quote with approval the text Matt. 28,20: “Go ye 
therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in 
the name of the Father and of the Son and of the 
Holy Ghost.” The argument is that, according to 
the text, the teaching must come first and then the 
baptizing. But, aside from the fact that even the 
English translation, with its participle, indicates 
that the baptizing should at least go hand in hand 
with the teaching, we know that the Greek text 
reads : — 

“Make disciples of all nations BY BAPTIZING 
THEM.” 

As for a command of the Lord to baptize chil- 
dren, it is included in the very words of the divine 
commission, which expressly speaks of all “nations.” 
Neither men nor women nor children are separately 
or distinctly mentioned, for all three are included 
in the word “nations.” 

We must also remember what Peter told his 
audience in his great sermon on Pentecost Day: — 


— 110 — 


“Repent and be baptized, every one of you.... 
For the promise is unto you and to your children.” 
Acts 2, 39. 

If the argument is advanced that children, espe- 
cially infants, cannot have the saving faith in their 
hearts, we point to such passages as the follow- 
ing : — 

“Whoso shall offend one of these little ones 
which believe in Me.” Matt. 18, 6. . 

“And that from a child [from infancy] thou 
hast known the Holy Scriptures, which are able 
to make thee wise unto salvation.” 2 Tim. 3, 15. 

The argument as to the form of baptism is often 
perplexing, since the contention is made that the 
word baptizein, in the classical language, means 
only “to immerse,” and since Luther expressed him- 
self as preferring this form of applying the water.— 
We keep in mind here that the usage of the word 
in the Bible determines its meaning, and we note 
that the word baptizein is used as a synonym of 
niptein, which clearly means “to wash.” 

“The Pharisees and all the Jews, except they 
wash (niptein) their hands oft, eat not.... And 
when they come from the market, except they wash 
(baptizein), they eat not. And many other things 
there be which they have received to hold, as the 
washing (baptismous) of cups, and pots, and brazen 
vessels, and of tables.” Mark 7, 3. 4. 

“And when the Pharisee saw it, he marveled that 
He had not first washed (baptizein) before dinner.” 
Luke 11, 38. 

The reference is to the washing of the hands as 
it was practised by the Jews before sitting down to 
a meal, and yet the word baptizein is used, 


— i111 — 


The point that we insist upon is this, that our 
liberty in the choice of methods of applying the 
water be not interfered with. The essential thing 
is that water be applied; beyond this nothing is 
commanded by God. 

With regard to the PRESBYTERIANS and all 
Reformed bodies of a strongly Calvinistic trend, it 
is to be noted that they want to confine the counsel 
of God regarding the salvation of men to the elect 
only, the conclusion, as stated by them, being that 
Christ died for the elect only, not for all men. 
Over against this terrible doatene we hold the clear 
words of Scripture: — 

“God so loved the world that He gave His only- 
begotten Son.” John 3, 16. 

“Christ died for all.” 2 Cor. 5,15 

“God will have all men to be saved and to come 
unto the knowledge of the truth.” 1 Tim. 2, 4. 

The Bible knows nothing of an election to eter- 
nal damnation, and the reason why the great ma- 
jority of men are not actually saved is not to be 
sought in God, but in their own perversity, accord- 
ing to which they reject the counsel of God’s love. 

As for the METHODISTS, many of them are 
perfectionists, that is, they hold that men who have 
come to faith are altogether without sin. Now, it 
is true that the believers, by virtue of their bap- 
tism, and by virtue of their faith which receives 
the full atonement of Christ, are pure and clean in 
the sight of God. John 15,3. According to the new 
man, the new nature which is ours by virtue of our 
conversion, we are holy in the sight of God. But 
according to the evil nature which we still bear 
around with us, which we combat all our lives, we 


— 112 — 


are sinful and require daily contrition and re- 
pentance. 

“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive our- 
selves and the truth is not in us. If we confess 
our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our 
sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 
1 John 1, 8. 9. Cp. Rom. 7, 14—24. 

So far as the EPISCOPALIANS are concerned, 
very much depends upon their particular interests, 
whether they are High Church or Low Church 
people. Their confessions mean very little, and 
each case must be judged on its own merits or de- 
merits. 

Many of the Protestant churches of our day are 
under the influence of Modernism and deny the fun- 
damental facts of Holy Writ. Whenever this is the 
case, we govern ourselves accordingly, treating the 
people concerned as unchurched. At the same time, 
we do not wish to be identified with the Fundamen- 
talists, much as we appreciate their stand on many 
of the doctrines defended by them. The thing for 
these Fundamentalists to do is to follow the injunc- 
tion of the Bible: “Come out from among them 
and be ye separate.” 2 Cor.6,17. If the sifting has 
been done, we are in a position to meet them. 

Meanwhile let us continue to MEET THE 
OBJECTIONS of the wrongly informed with 
PATIENCE TOWARD ALL MEN! 


— 113 — 
CHAPTER X. 
I Will Seek That which was Lost. Ezek. 34, 16. 


Canvassing. 


We have now come to the point where the prac- 
tical execution of the plan is the primary consider- 
ation. It is understood, of course, that the Lutheran 
soul-winner does not confine his efforts to any one 
day in the year, that he is not satisfied with one 
particular occasion for doing the greatest good. Our 
aim is to do good to all men, to try to interest them 
in their soul’s salvation at all times, to keep the 
possibilities of the message of redemption in view 
whenever occasion offers. 

At the same time, experience has shown that 
great, united, systematic mission endeavors are pro- 
ductive of much good. It is self-evident, in the case 
of Lutherans, that the emotional element must not 
become too prominent. Information concerning 
mission-work, concerning the will of God pertaining 
to our sanctification, a thorough knowledge of the 
needs of men and of the way to help them in their 
spiritual need is essential in our work. Emotional- 
ism alone is like a straw-fire, which quickly burns 
out and therefore is without lasting effects. The 
fire which we aim to kindle by our missionary en- 
deavors is intended to set fire to heart and con- 
science, to mind and soul, for we want men to ac- 
cept the message of the redemption of their souls 
through the atonement wrought by Christ. 

“JT will make My words in thy mouth fire.” 
Jer. 5, 14. 

“Thy Word was unto me the joy and rejoicing 
of mine heart.” Jer.15,16. 

While It Is Day! 8 


— 114 — 


“CQ earth, earth, earth, hear the Word of the 
Lord!” Jer. 22, 29. 

“Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, 
that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine 
of bread or thirst for water, but of hearing the words 
of the Lord.” Amos'8, 11. } 

“The Word of God is quick and powerful and 
sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to 
the dividing asunder of soul and spirit and of 
the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the 
thoughts and intents of the heart.” Heb. 4, 12. 

The fundamental idea, the thought underlying 
the whole project and giving it the proper motiva- 
tion, is that indicated by the love of the Messiah. 

“T WILL SEEK THAT WHICH WAS LOST!” 
Fizek. 34, 16. 

That was the definite intention, the consecrated 
determination, of the promised Messiah, of the 
Christ of God, hundreds of years before He ap- 
peared in the flesh. It was not due to any fault on 
His part that men were lost. Every member of 
mankind had but himself to blame for losing his 
way and being in danger of damnation. All we like - 
sheep had gone astray. — But the Savior declared 
that He would SEEK that which was lost. With- 
out any merit or worthiness on the part of those 
who were concerned in His counsel of love He yet 
decided to make the sacrifice, to offer up Himself 
for the salvation of the human race. 

LET THIS MIND BE ALSO IN US! With 
this love of Christ stirring our hearts into a flame, 
with the full knowledge of the great issues involved, 
we must, in our canvassing, SEEK THAT WHICH 
WAS LOST. Let that object stand out before our 


— 115 — 


eyes at all times, and we shall not waver in our 
purpose. 

The suggestion is to set our great endeavor in 
motion with a concerted effort and with the con- 
sciousness that hundreds and thousands of our 
fellow-Christians throughout the Church are simi- 
larly engaged. 


LET OUR MUTUAL ZEAL PROVOKE 
VERY MANY! 


If a whole State or district or a fairly large 
division of a State is engaged in a systematic enter- 
prise at the same time, the leadership may well be 
vested in a committee or board with an executive 
secretary. It would be particularly advantageous if 
the forces of the young people of the Church and 
of any missionary organizations within the Church 
could operate under the officers of the Church. In 
some sections of our Church this spirit is even now 
in evidence, the officers of the various bodies recog- 
nizing the possibilities of utilizing the energy of 
the young people and the latter offering their ser- 
vices to be directed according to the best interests 
of the Church. 

Much labor may probably be saved if such a plan 
is executed by checking off various mission-fields in 
advance. In one of the Districts of our Church the 
following question sheet has been prepared in mak- 
ing ready for a systematic canvass. 

Name of city, town, or community: ............. 


County ayy. oa Population in 1920: ......... 
1. Are you acquainted in this city (town — commu- 
nity) ? 
2. Is it a prosperous place, and is the population in- 


creasing or at a standstill’? 
3. How old is the place? 


— 116 — 


4. Of what nationality, descent, or extraction are 
most of its people or the people in the neighbor- 
hood? 

5. How many churches: are there represented? 

6. What denominations? 

7. Which branch of the Lutheran Church, if any, is 
represented there? 

8. Do you know of any Missouri Synod Lutherans liv- 
ing in this place or in the vicinity? 

9. Are they affiliated with any church? 

10. Are you in a position to give their names, please? 

11. Are there many unchurched people? 

12. If the population is rural, how is it served spirit- 
ually ? 

13. Has our Synod ever started a mission or a congre- 
gation in this place? 

14. Has any other synod affiliated with the Synodical 
Conference ? 

15. If so, when (refers to Questions 13 and 14)? 

16. If work was discontinued, why was this done? 

17. If we have never done work there, was there a spe- 
cial reason? 

18. Do you think a mission could be started there now? 

19. If so, in which language should the preaching and 
teaching be done? 

20. Other remarks. 


If this information, or a large part of it, is 
available in smaller towns or in rural communities, 
it will serve very well to prepare the ground for 
a systematic canvass, for it affords centers from 
which our work can radiate in all directions. 

But whether such specific preparation went ahead 
or not, the work in every congregation or in every 
circle of congregations uniting and cooperating in 
this work ought to be organized. 

The first step is to GAIN AND ORGANIZE 
the workers. We are assuming, as a matter of 
course, that all the members of every congregation 


— 117 — 


will take an interest, and, if possible, an ACTIVE 
INTEREST, in every form of missionary endeavor. 
Sut there is always a large number which cannot 
be counted upon for actual participation. Many 
of the older people no longer have the physical 
strength demanded by a strenuous campaign. Others 
are often absent from the city or have work of 
a kind which makes it impossible for them to take 
part. It is to be hoped, and that most devoutly, 
that the number of actual shirkers in an enterprise 
of this importance will be very small. 

The cooperation of all church-members may be 
solicited in enlisting them with the young people 
whose ministry is here particularly presupposed. 
The pastor may address the organizations concerned 
with a direct appeal to cooperate. Even a special 
sermon setting forth the need of personal work 
would be highly acceptable. 

Arrange for a meeting of all those who are in- 
terested in the systematic mission endeavor, even 
for those who cannot take an active part, but are 
willing to lend their moral and, possibly, their finan- 
cial support. Open the meeting with a devotional 
service, which emphasizes the need of consecration 
and of personal work. Explain the object of the 
meeting as clearly as possible, with reference to the 
Lord’s commission, the obligation of love, the world’s 
need of the Gospel, the possibility of soul-winning, 
the importance of trained workers, and all the other 
points which are needed to bring home to every one 
present the paramount importance of the enterprise. 
Let the undertaking be discussed from the floor of 
the meeting. If you have not arranged for the ap- 
pointment of an executive committee beforehand 


— 118 — 


(which is sometimes advisable), let it be done in 
this meeting. Have the assembly perfect a perma- 
nent organization, with a minimum of rules and by- 
laws. Try to get as many pledges of WORKERS 
as possible. a 

Emphasize the need of training. Arrange meet- 
ings for wformation and drill. In these meetings 
the informational side must be_ stressed most 
strongly; for it is knowledge on the part of the 
canvassers that will count, even if they are never 
expressly called upon to make a statement of their 
belief. In the pamphlet Send Me! there are eight 
outlines of study, which may form the basis for sys- 
tematic training. But the class may also take up 
the first chapters of this present book and go over 
them very carefully, especially with a view of be- 
coming acquainted with the Scriptural background. 
The Word of God is full of divine energy and power, 
and an intensive study of any series of passages will 
invariably bring blessings which enable us to under- 
‘stand more fully the surpassing riches of God’s 
grace and mercy. 

At the same time the devotional element must 
not be lacking in these lessons. Unless we always 
remain conscious of the immense responsibility laid 
on us by the OBLIGATION OF LOVE, our work 
for Christ tends to become mechanical and lifeless. 
The fire of our own soul will most easily kindle fire 
in the souls of others, while a mechanical repetition 
of Bible-passages may cause little response. Let 
every one attending the meetings realize the serious- 
ness of the situation and the responsibility resting 
upon every one who takes part in this work. 

The practical side of canvassing must be both 


— 119 — 
STRESSED and DRILLED. A great many people 


are ditident when meeting strangers; they appear 
shy and self-conscious. We must try to overcome 
this feeling for the sake of successful canvassing. 
If we present ourselves at the door of a strange 
house with an air which is either too apologetic or 
too bold, we may spoil our approach at once. For 
that reason it is well that the lessons stress points 
of such interest to the workers. Let those who have 
had successful experience in canvassing explain the 
manner in which they made their calls and just 
how they avoided being drawn into arguments with- 
out missing the chance to testify for the truth. 
The last meetings especially should be devoted to 
practical demonstrations, with the imaginary situa- 
tion approaching as nearly to real life as circum- 
stances will permit. At this time the teams of two 
will have been selected, and the committee in charge, 
under the direction of the pastor, can easily arrange 
a setting which will be like that actually found when 
the workers make their rounds. 

It is self-evident that literature which is used in 
the systematic mission endeavor must be understood 
by all those who take part in the work. Samples 
of canvassers’ cards should be in the hands of all 
members as their use is explained. Let these cards 
be used in the practical demonstrations, so that the 
teams will know exactly what to do when they come 
to a door. Emphasize the fact that every space 
should be utilized if possible. The canvassers must 
also understand the advertising literature of their 
own congregation, such as cards stating the location 
of the church, time of worship, pulpit programs, 
a letter of personal invitation from the pastor stat- 


— 120 — 


ing the outstanding features of Lutheranism, ete. 
These cards or letters may be left at every house of 
unchurehed and of people coming under this head- 
ing as a matter of routine. Interature tis not dis- 
tributed to such as profess membership in any Chris- 
tian denomination, unless such people ask for this 
information. 

Meanwhile the pastor (or pastors) and the com- 
mittee (or committees) will prepare for the actual 
canvass by laying out the field according to its geo- 
graphical boundaries, so that each group working 
in the endeavor may have a definite district. This 
is essential especially where parish boundaries are 
no longer observed. Under no cireumstances may 
we become busybodies in other men’s matters in 
carrying out our systematic mission endeavor, nor 
may we interfere with the work of any Christian 
congregation. If we find people who are already 
members of one of our own congregations or of any 
other Christian congregation, it is self-evident that 
we do not include these in our endeavor; we simply 
note down the facts as given us (name, address, 
church connection), thank the people for the infor- 
mation given, and then go about our business. It 
has been found that an actual map of the districts 
canvassed, drawn as nearly as possible to scale, will 
greatly stimulate the interest of the workers and of 
other members of the congregation. If a member 
of the committee who has some training in statis- 
tical. work will indicate, in the course of ‘the cam- 
paign, the homes of all people visited, using tacks 
of.a different color for such as are members of the 
local church, such as are members of other churches, 
such as are unchurched and seem to be definite pros- 


sens OY 


pects, and such as are unchurched and show no in- 
terest, at present, in the message of the Gospel, the 
map will serve for visual instruction and very likely 
stimulate to further efforts. 

It may prove of great value to obtain at this 
time, through a committee especially elected or ap- 
pointed for this purpose, a list of all those who, for 
any reason whatever, have drifted away from the 
Lutheran Church. Let this committee be known as 
the Tracing Committee. In order to accomplish 
something for the success of the campaign, this 
committee will consult all available records (under 
the direction of the pastor), comparing those of 
years ago with the present church records. Records 
of baptisms, confirmations, marriages, even . of 
deaths, ought to be consulted, also the lists of those 
who have removed from the parish, probably leav- 
ing behind them some relatives or friends. If the 
former address of such people is available, inquiry, 
if necessary at the offices of moving companies, may 
bring information concerning: the new address. All 
the names gained by this search are placed in the 
list of the districts as outlined according to geo- 
graphical. boundaries in order that special efforts 
may be concentrated upon gaining these people once 
more. If they have moved to remote parts of the 
city or to another State, the pastor living nearest 
to their present location. ought to be notified. If 
they are still in the district served by the congre- 
gation, they will be given special attention in the 
canvass and later in the follow-up work. — 

Let: us not forget, throughout, that our interest 
is not confined to former Lutherans or to people of 
German or Seandinavian descent, of whom we may 


arg C1. eee 


often assume that they may feel some interest in 
the Lutheran Church on account of former associa- 
tions. Our systematic mission endeavor has in mind 
the winning of as many of the unchurched as pos- 
sible, regardless of race, color, and nationality. We 
shall, therefore, pay just as much attention to this 
phase of our endeavor as to any other. 

After all preliminary and preparatory work bind 
been done in a proper manner, so that all concerned 
in the endeavor have a clear conception of the ex- 
tent and character of their participation and know 
exactly what they are to do, the missionary CAN- 
VASS itself may be undertaken. 

BE SURE TO HAVE ENOUGH SUPPLIES 
ON HAND! These include, in addition to the local 
advertising matter, canvassers’ cards, tracts covering 
topics which will probably be broached (for there is 
no time for arguments during a canvass), and cards 
for tabulating results. Envelopes showing the name 
and address of the church are almost indispensable. 
The working room of the Executive Committee 
ought to have cards of a regulation size, preferably 
5X8, in four colors, for tabulating the results of 
the canvass. ‘The last-named work should be in 
charge of a Typing Committee, which can im- 
mediately transfer the records from the canvassers’ 
ecards to the working records for follow-up work. 

The canvass itself may, in preparatory fashion, 
be conducted by mail, this work being in the hands 
of a Mailing Committee. The object of this under- 
taking is to address all those prospects who, accord- 
ing to the information gathered, have fallen away, 
in an inspiring letter, inviting them to a special 
service at the church, where a sermon suited to the 


15% — 123 — 


oceasion will be preached and other features may be 
introduced which will make this service stand out 
from others. If this service is followed by a social 
meeting in the parish hall, which is conducted in 
a cheerful spirit and yet in thorough harmony with 
the serlous purpose in view, it may be productive 
of much good in bringing in such as are still 
strangers or such as have fallen -away from the 
Church and its ministrations. 

The organization for the canvass will, at this 
time, have about the following form: — 


CONGREGATION AND PASTOR 


Executive Committee 
and 
. Regular Officers of the Endeavor 


Statistician Tracing Mailing Typing 
or Committee Committee Committee 
Committee on 
Statistics 
poe pen ee ee eT PEE EES Eun Sd 1 PRT ee Pee ie 
Canvassers in Teams Others Lending Moral and 


Financial Support 


Let us now take up the PERSONAL CAN- 
VASS itself, especially for supplying such infor- 
mation as may not as yet have been given. As 
stated above, much attention is given, in the last 
training-lessons, to practical drill in the manner of 
approaching people and getting results. When 
everybody is letter-perfect and the enthusiasm is of 
the right kind, the canvass proper may be held, 
either on a stated Sunday afternoon or within 
a given time, which must be exactly fixed before- 
hand. Before going out on their routes as assigned 
to them by the Executive Committee, the workers 


— 124 — 


will assemble for some ten or fifteen minutes to jom 
in a short devotional service led by the pastor. 
Equipped with all thé supplies needed, the canvas- 
sers will then go out on their rounds. 

One member of each team of two takes care of 
the cards, while the other does the talking and takes 
the lead in any short conversation at the door. The 
address of the place will be noted down before the 
door-bell is rung. As soon as some one appears at 
the door, the spokesman will say : — 

“Good afternoon [or whatever time of the day 
it may be]. Pardon me, we are no salesmen [or 
saleswomen], but we are taking a religious census 
in the neighborhood. You surely will be ready to 
give us a little information?’ Then follow the 
questions for the name, church-membership or pref- 
erence, if any; children from two years up, any 
Sunday-school affiliation, language, or whatever else 
may be desirable. If people declare that they are 
members of some church, we stop right there, for in 
that case the other information does not concern us. 
It must be definitely understood that people belong- 
ing to any other Lutheran congregation or to any 
other Christian denomination besides our own will 
not be urged to come to our churches, only the un- 
churched and those outside the pale of Christianity 
being invited. An exception holds good only in case 
of such people as come to us of their own free will, 
being anxious to find out what the Lutheran Church 
teaches. Be sure to express your thanks for the in- 
formation before leaving the door. 

Among the practical suggestions to canvassers the 
following from Gallmann, A Manual for Welfare 
Workers, are valuable: — 


Mead hs poe 


Treat fundamentals only. 

Be brief. 

Do not argue. He who argues is lost. 

Discuss only one point at a time. 

Be natural,, sincere, courteous, not easily discour- 

aged. 

Avoid the better-than-thou spirit. 

Avoid obnoxious features about person or appear- 

ance. 

Provide Christian association and maintain per- 

sonal contact. 

Always inquire if understood. 

Prepare subject-matter before making visit. 

Pray at door-step. 

The cards filled out by the canvassers will be 
turned in immediately to the Executive Committee 
and the pastor in order that they may be interpreted 
and the classification made. There is a great inspi- 
rational and educational value in having the can- 
vassers supplement their written reports with an 
oral account of their work, and this may be done in 
a social meeting on an evening after all cards have 
been turned in. 

In tabulating the result of the canvass, it is 
best not to make too many subdivisions in the 
names submitted. Three, or possibly four, groups 
of prospects or missionary material may be con- 
sidered. Group A will contain “definite prospects,” 
that is, all who are really interested in the Church, 
but have merely been battling with various adverse 
circumstances. Group B contains the “uncertain,” 
those who have fallen away from the Church or, 
while still unchurched, show only a faint interest. 

troup © contains the names of such as are “very 
doubtful,” such as show no interest whatever, though 
they are not outright hostile. A fourth group, D, 


— 126 — 


will contain the names of such as are “apparently 
hopeless,” people who are outspoken in their oppo- 
sition to the Church, but who are listed neverthe- 
less, since the Lord is always able to change circum- 
stances very quickly and cause men’s hearts to turn 
to Him for help. God’s ways in dealing with people 
are often strange, and it is a part of Christian 
wisdom to follow His guiding hand. 

In making the transfer of information from the 
canvassers’ cards to those filed for future use, it is 
advisable, as indicated above, to have each group 
appear under a different color. It is particularly 
encouraging’ if, due to follow-up work, some cards 
from a lower group may be taken out, to be replaced 
by another card in a higher group. The Typing 
Committee may also prepare one or more mazling- 
lists under the direction of the pastor in order that 
the addresses gathered. may be immediately avail- 
able for further missionary purposes. 

Thus the SOUL-WINNER is actually at work 
carrying out the OBLIGATION OF LOVE! 


CHAPTER XI. 


Let Us Not Be Weary. Gal. 6, 9. 
Follow-Up Work. 


There is a reason for selecting the heading of 
this chapter in just that form: — 


LET US NOT BE WEARY! 

The work of the personal mission-canvass is not 
easy. It often requires all the believer’s physical and 
spiritual stamina. The great majority of people in 
the world are not interested in the message of sal- 


— 127 — 


vation. ‘The number of cheerful greetings on the 
part of those visited will be comparatively few. It 
does happen, of course, that people are frankly de- 
lighted to have us call and show a personal interest 
in them. That is when the canvasser feels the rich 
blessing which attends the soul-winner. 

On the whole, it may be said that the systematic 
canvass has certain elements that make it attractive. 
There is the combination of talents and energy; 
there is the stimulation of the contact with kindred 
minds bent upon the accomplishment of a great 
object; there is the exhilaration of the work itself; 
for there is always the possibility of finding souls 
that hunger and thirst after righteousness. 

It is different, on the whole, with FOLLOW-UP 
WORK. There the preliminary report has been 
made, the possibility of new and encouraging dis- 
coveries is fairly remote. Follow-up work means 
to use endless kindness and tact and patience in 
keeping alive the spark of interest and in kindling 
it into a warm and bright flame. It means, in some 
cases, losing people who seemed to be fairly good 
prospects because they, after all, prefer the ways of 
the world to the ways of the Church. It means 
finding oneself in the spiritual condition of Elijah 
when he cried out in the bitterness of his heart: — 

“Tt is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life, 
for I am not better than my fathers.... The chil- 
dren of Israel have forsaken Thy covenant, thrown 
down Thine altars, and slain Thy prophets with the 
sword; and I, even I only, am left.” 1 Kings 19, 4. 10. 

For this reason the words of the holy apostle are 
so wonderful for the soul-winner at this stage: — 

“LET US NOT BE WEARY IN WELL- 
DOING; for in due season we shall reap, IF WE 


gee 


FAINT NOT. As we have therefore opportunity, 
let us do good unto all men, especially unto them 
who are of the household of faith.” Gal. 6, 9.10. 

In this we ought to be strengthened particularly 
by a consideration of the mercy of God in- His 
follow-up work for men. ‘There are the countless 
evidences of His love and grace in dealing with 
entire nations. With what unspeakably wonderful 
kindness and patience did He déal with His chosen 
people in the Old Testament! As often as they 
provoked Him to anger with their murmuring and 
with their idolatry, He nevertheless turned to them 
in merey whenever they repented and cried to Him 
for help. 

“The Lord testified against Israel and against 
Judah by all the prophets and by all the seers, saying, 
Turn ye from your evil ways and keep My command- 
ments and My statutes, according to all the Law 
which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent 
to you by My servants. the prophets.” 2 Kings 
re eR 

Even when the Lord was finally provoked to 
such depths of anger as to have Israel removed from 
the Land of Promise, He caused the more serious 
people in its midst to cast their lot with Judah; and 
even when Judah was led away into captivity, He 
promised deliverance and return to those who would 
seek His face. And let us not forget that from the 
remnant of the covenant people who returned to 
the land of their fathers the Lord chose a maiden 
to be the mother of the Redeemer, and Christ’s first 
personal followers, the nucleus of the New Testa- 
ment Church, were people who were descendants of 
Abraham according to the flesh, 


— 129 — 


Of such a nature is the Lord’s FOLLOW-UP 
WORK! 

_ And He shows the same patient love in dealing 
with individuals. Where would David have been 
if the Lord had not sought him again and again 
when he sinned? What would have become of 
Peter if there had been no room for repentance 
after his denial of his Savior? 

We have but to examine our own lives to realize, 
in a measure, the patience of God in dealing with 
us poor sinners. As often as we have provoked 
Him, not only with small transgressions, but with 
great and deliberate sins, and that time and again, 
He has been ready to forgive and to forget and to 
pour out on us once more the fulness of His mercy 
in Christ Jesus. 

That is true FOLLOW-UP WORK, such as we 
are to learn from the Lord! 

In order to do real follow-up work, then, it is 
necessary for the worker to intensify whatever 
previous impressions of soul-winning he has gained. 
He must dwell, time and again, on the example of 
Scripture, which must cause us to bring the invita- 
tion of Philip with patient repetition: — 

“COME AND SEE!” John 1, 46. 

_ No matter what objections are brought by those 
whom we are trying to win for Christ, and no 


. matter how often we have confessed our belief in 


the Bible and all its doctrines, the final call which 
we must issue to all men everywhere is to COME 
AND SEE. Let them but examine our Confessions, 
let them but hear our sermons, let them but search 
the Scriptures, — that is what we ask, knowing that 
the Holy Spirit, working through the Word, will 
kindle faith where and when He will. 
While It Is Day! 9 


— 130 — 


We have the opportunity, in follow-up work, to 
concentrate in prayer. We are no longer dealing 
with the problem as a whole, we are not regarding 
the indefinite in persons, but we have certain people 
to deal with. Of these people we possess some in- 
formation, not much, perhaps, but enough to say 
to the Lord: “Behold, he whom Thou lovest is 
sick.” We can present the particular difficulties of 
each case to the Lord, reminding Him, at the same 
time, that He has taught to wrestle with Him for 
the souls of men and that He has given us the 
promise : — 

“My Word shall not return unto Me void!” 
Is. 5511: 

Follow-up work means that we are going to be 
much more interested in personal work in the con- 
gregation. There are so many ways in which we 
ean be of use to the Lord in the work which is 
already established, in teaching Sunday-school, in 
serving on committees, in doing clerical work, in 
being present at meetings where the weal and woe 
of the church is discussed. The greater our interest 
in this phase of churech-work, the more we shall be 
prepared to serve the Lord in follow-up work deal- 
ing with prospective members. 

Follow-up work means a life in the Word of 
God. The Gospel, the Word of God, is the only 
source of spiritual life and energy which we have, 
the Holy Eucharist being the visible form of this 
Word. The more deeply we penetrate into the 
riches of the knowledge of God, especially as it is 
revealed to us in Christ, the more we shall be pre- 
pared to be soul-winners in follow-up work. 

Now as for the APPROACH ITSELF. This 
depends largely upon the contact in the canvass 


— 131 — 


and in the campaign by mail. Where the prospect 
is practically gained, it remains to clinch his re- 
solve. If he is favorably inclined toward accepting 
the invitation which has been extended to him, a 
tactful reminder will probably suffice. It is at this 
point that the words which St. Paul writes to the 
Corinthians ought to be kept in mind: — 

“TI seek not yours, but you.” 2 Cor. 12, 14. 

Many people are extremely sensitive with regard 
to joining a church, for they have the strange 
notion that the church seeks them only on account 
of their contributions. Our task is to convey to all 
prospects the assurance that we are offering them in 
the Gospel far greater spiritual gifts than they can 
ever hope to pay for with all the wealth of the 
world’s gold-fields. | 

In the case of those who are less favorably 
inclined or apparently hopeless we are inclined to 
give up too soon, particularly after the experience 
of a very stinging rebuff. Let us not forget that 
there is an importunity of faith which does not 
know the word failure until the Lord Himself has 
indicated that further work is useless. 


NEVER GIVE UP UNTIL THE WORK IS 
DEFINITELY IN VAIN! 

The number of calls which we make may be 
reduced, but the name of any prospect should not 
be taken from our mailing-lists until a conclusive 
demonstration of such a hardening of heart has 
been brought as to convince us that we should, by 
further efforts, be casting our pearls before swine. 

Let us now summarize what may be said under 
the heading of follow-up work. 

It stands to reason that this task should be 
undertaken as soon as possible after the canvass 


— 1382 — 


itself. The enthusiasm of the campaign must not 
be spent, otherwise the reaction may find us in an 
apathetic mood. If the various teams have been 
working together with the proper zeal, they will 
probably be ready to go out for personal follow-up 
work in the district covered by them. They will 
look up all the people listed under Group A and 
invite them personally to come to services. If a 
special church service can be arranged and a defi- 
nite, printed invitation be extended, much will be 
gained. But the emphasis on this feature must not 
be too strong, otherwise the special stimulus will 
always be expected, and the reaction is apt to be 
that following sectarian revivals. Our aim is in- 
doctrination, and to that end we must have regular 
church attendance on the part of the prospects. 

Above all, a positive and definite approach will 
rarely fail of success. Jf parents have promised to- 
send their children to Sunday-school, arrangements 
should be made according to which some one will 
-eall for the children at least on the first Sunday, if 
not for an indefinite period, until they have become 
accustomed to the idea of coming themselves. If 
older people seem diffident, arrange to have some 
church-member living in the neighborhood eall for 
them and accompany them to church. If the 
church-member ordinarily comes to church in his 
auto, the ride may be a secondary inducement for 
them to go along, warding off excuses pertaining to 
the weather. Care should be exercised that all 
people not only come to church, but also meet the 
pastor, if this may at all be arranged. 

Be at church yourself, with a friendly greeting 
for such prospects as you have personally met. See 
that other members of the church are also given 


ABR) 


an opportunity to say a word of weleome. Be sure 
to avoid even the appearance of snobbery, the 
respect of persons, which is so severely condemned 


in the Bible. Read Jas. 2, 1—9. 


The organization of the committees and of the 
teams ought to be kept intact for at least a year at 
a time. This is necessary because the pastor may 
not be able to visit all prospects in a short time, 
and it is he who should by all means get in touch 
with such as have become interested, or may become 
interested, in the work of the Church. It will be 
advisable also that the -workers, in assisting the 
various committees, keep in touch with all those 
listed, not only in Group A, but also in Group B 
and ©, by personal visits if possible, and at least 
by the sending of letters of invitation and other 
literature, such as announcements of special ser- 
vices, parish-papers, pulpit programs, and other 
forms of publicity. If Lenten services are held in 
a city or community, the announcements of such 
services should certainly, reach every person on the 
congregation’s mailing-list. 

As stated above, if there are children concerned, 
all efforts must be bent toward gaining them at 
least for the Sunday-school, but, if possible, also 
for the day-school. If there are children past the 
junior age and adults who are not yet confirmed, 
they should be tactfully induced to attend the 
special classes arranged for such as desire to become 
acquainted with the Bible truth as taught in our 
Church. In every case talk over the matter with 
your pastor first. This suggestion applies especially 
in the case of older people whom one would like 
to interest in church-membership and in the joining 
of church societies. While all prospects may be 


— 134 — 


invited most urgently to attend meetings, particu- 
larly the social meetings of the various organiza- 
tions in the church, the elegibility to membership 
must be discussed with the pastor and the church 
authorities first. Of course, if there is no valid 
reason which would prevent their joining, and espe- 
clally if they have been admitted to the Lord’s 
Supper by the pastor, then, all other things being 
equal, they may be admitted to the various societies. 
If the prospects have any ability or accomplishment 
along any lines whatsoever, —the faculty to teach, 
to sing, or some other talent, —they may become 
useful members of the various organizations con- 
cerned. 

But let ALL THINGS BE DONE DECENTLY 
AND IN ORDER and with the object of winning 
souls for the Lord. For that is the spirit in which 
our work is done, a humble offering of our talents 
and services in building the Lord’s kingdom. 

Here am I, Thou great Creator; 
Here am I, O Lord, send me! 

Here am I to do Thy bidding: 

What I have I owe to Thee. 

Soul and body Thou hast given 

All of mercy, full and free 

That for Thee I may employ them — 
Here am I, O Lord, send me! 


Here am I, my only Savior; 

Here am I, O Lord, send me! 

Thou hast wrought my full redemption 
By Thy death on Calvary. 

For my life Thy life was given 

On that barren, cursed tree 

That my life be spent in service — 
Here am JI, O Lord, send me! 


— 135 — 


Here am I, Thou Source of power, 
Here am I, O Lord, send me! 
Thou hast wrought, O Holy Spirit, 
Faith my Savior for to see. 

By the comfort of Thy presence 

I have strength to live for Thee 
In a life of love and service — 
Here am I, O Lord, send me! 


' Here am I, Thou Fount of Mercy; 
Here am I, O Lord, send me! 
Wheresoe’er Thy hand directs me 
I shall follow willingly. 

If but in the slightest measure 

I repay my debt to Thee, 

Then my life has not been wasted — 
Here am I, O Lord, send me! 


CHAPTER XII. 


Feed My Lambs! John 21, 15. 
Founding and Conducting a Sunday-School. 


The subject of this chapter is very closely con- 
nected with that of all personal endeavor in mission- 
work. It links up with the historical fact that the 
laymen of the early Church were actively engaged 
in spreading the Gospel, as we learned in Chap- 
ter III, and that the Lord expects all Christians, 
whether pastors or laymen, to take a direct, per- 
sonal, active interest in the spread of His kingdom. 

The matter is brought home to us even by a 
consideration of some historical facts in church 
history. The Methodist Church did not come into 
existence until a century after the establishment of 
the first Lutheran congregation in America. And 
yet, this denomination has more than twice as many 


— 1386 — 


members in our country as all Lutheran bodies put 
together. The Baptists began work in our country 
in 1636, or at about the same time that Lutheran 
preaching was established on the Delaware. Yet 
the Baptists, too, are much stronger than the com- 
bined Lutheran bodies of our country. 

What is the explanation? We cannot well speak 
of laxity in doctrine and life, for both bodies, at 
the time of their most rapid growth, were most 
conservative. Moreover, some of their tenets might 
be considered unusually objectionable to the average 
person; for the Methodists had church rules which 
went beyond the Word of God in strictness, and 
the Baptists insisted upon immersion in baptism, 
a form which does not particularly commend itself 
to the average person.— On the other hand, we 
know that the errors of these denominations were 
not the cause of their rapid growth, because the 
Holy Ghost does not operate through specific false 
teaching. 

The explanation is to be found, at least in part, 
in the fact that that part of the truth which was 
still held by these two church-bodies was spread 
with great zeal by laymen connected with these de- 
nominations. And one of their chief agencies in 
establishing new churches and in doing Home Mis- 
sion work was the Sunday-school, introduced into 
this country immediately after the War of the 
Revolution. Wherever a Methodist or a Baptist 
settled, he tried to interest his neighbors in the 
establishment of a Sunday-school, and such a 
Sunday-school quickly became the nucleus of a con- 
gregation, for preaching was invariably introduced 
at the earliest opportunity. 


— 137 — 


This fact was brought home to the present writer 
in a very interesting and emphatic manner some 
years ago. JI was pastor in a Western city and 
also had charge of a small mission-station located 
in one of the suburbs. This station was visited 
every Sunday afternoon, and the only way to reach 
my destination was to take the street-car. Now, 
I noticed that a number of young people invariably 
took the same car. They were a cheerful group, but 
always carried on with a certain dignity. They had 
Bibles and other religious literature with them, and 
they rode beyond my destination. After some time 
I ventured to inquire where they were going and 
who they were. I received the information very 
quickly. They were members of one of the largest 
and richest churches in the city, and they went out 
every Sunday afternoon to conduct a Sunday-school 
in one of the small mining-towns to the northwest. 

I found out a few more facts, in the course of 
time. One was this, that these young people, al- 
though, for the most part, sons and daughters of 
wealthy people, did not take their automobiles on 
these Sunday afternoon trips, lest the poor children 
whom they intended to serve be overawed by the 
splendor and have no confidence in them. Besides, 
this group of young people was only one of nine sets 
of young people from the same church, all of whom 
conducted mission Sunday-schools in various sub- 
urbs of the city. 

These facts gave me some food for thought, and 
I am only too glad to pass this information on to 
others. 

ONE CHURCH WITH NINE MISSION 
SUNDAY-SCHOOLS, all of them conducted by 
- young people, whose pastor was himself a mission- 


— 138 — 


worker of note and managed to inspire his young 
people with the desire to do some Sat, personal work 
for the Lord! 

This is a possibility for church expansion which 
has been tried in our Church in only a few isolated 
instances. But what a vista opens up before him 
who uses a little consecrated imagination together 
with a measure of common sense — with 60 per 
cent. of our population unchurched, with approxi- 
mately twenty million children growing up without 
any formal instruction in the truth of the Bible! 

Here is work which consecrated young people 
(and old people) can undertake. A small.amount of 
training is now available for Sunday-school teachers, 
no matter where they are found. Moreover, our 
pastors will be glad to conduct classes for the train- 
ing of church-workers, as suggested in these pages. 
And the literature for Sunday-school work is being 
published; it can easily be turned out in much 
greater quantities! 

What can consecrated laymen, what can SOUL- 
WINNERS do in furthering the cause of the Gos- 
pel and of the kingdom of God along these lines? 

Let us remember, first of all, that nothing should 
be undertaken where the work is already established, 
where there is a congregation and a pastor within 
reasonable reach of any section of city or country. 
In this case any unchurched people, young or old, 
will be reached through the systematic mission en- 
deavor described in Chapters X and XI. 

Let us remember, in the second place, that work 
of this kind ought to be undertaken only under the 
auspices of the Church. Sometimes only one pastor 
is concerned, as when work is to be done in a suburb 


/ 


— 139 — - 


adjacent to a city where we have a church. Some- 
times a number of pastors and congregations will 
be interested, and in that case the local pastor will 
be glad to arrange for the work. Sometimes a lay- 
man may become interested in mission-work in 
some city or town at a great distance from any of 
our congregations. In that case it will be advisable, 
at least, to confer with the mission board of the 
District or have the local pastor take care of this 
formality. 

The main thing is that the work be done! And 
to this end a number of suggestions are here offered. 

When a field such as is described above is to be 
opened to the Church, an exploration is in order. 
If this is done by a careful canvass, it will yield the 
best survey of the field and give a picture of the 
possibilities, which can be shown in a graph. 

The contact having been established by means 
of the canvass, the next step is to enlist the aid of 
a sufficient number of volunteer workers to act as 
teachers and officers of the school, allowing a gen- 
erous estimate of the people thus needed. ‘These 
people should be pledged, in fact, they ought to 
pledge themselves, to work for the success of the 
new missionary venture with all energy; for unless 
workers can be depended upon, all missionary efforts 
lack stability. 

After the teaching staff has been provided for, 
the territory itself must be prepared. If the can- 
vassers have been successful in their first endeavor, 
a list of prospective pupils may be made. If there 
is a possibility of interesting at least some of the 
older people from the beginning, provisions for a 
Bible class should be made. 


— 140 — 


Next comes the publicity work. A few days 
before the opening of .the projected Sunday-school, 
the entire territory to be served should be covered 
with hand-bills, dodgers, and other forms of adver- 
tising. If the local newspaper office does the print- 
ing, there may be a possibility of getting some space 
in the issue preceding the Sunday of the opening. 
Of course, personal invitations go to all who have 
signified their willingness to join the Sunday-school 
classes. 


On the opening day the superintendent and all 
the teachers ought to be on hand in plenty of time 
in order that no delay may interfere with the or- 
ganization of the school. The children and all 
other attendants should be warmly, but not effu- 
sively, welcomed as they arrive, and, several regis- 
tration desks having been provided, their names and 
addresses, their age, information concerning bap- 
tism (if available), brothers and sisters, possibly 
also church connection or confession of parents, 
should immediately be entered. This must be done, 
of course, with proper kindness and tact. Let the 
teachers and officers who are not engaged in the 
welcoming of the children and in their registration 
immediately engage the attention of those already 
enrolled by entering into a cheerful conversation 
with the children or showing them some Biblical 
pictures provided for the walls or for individual 
display. Much information can be gained in this 
manner concerning the knowledge which the chil- 
dren possess in religious matters. At the same time 
a tentative division into classes may be made, so 
that all the children will be in the care of their 
respective teachers when opening time comes or 
shortly after. 


— 141 — 


Having started with a familiar, cheerful hymn, 
the leader should address the assembled children, 
bidding them welcome once more and explaning the 
purpose of the school in a few simple sentences. 
The regular lesson may then be taken up at once, 
for the children expect this and must not be disap- 
pointed. Since, however, the first lesson will be 
largely in the nature of a get-acquainted hour, the 
lesson will be brief, and much time may be given 
to singing. 

Be sure to rehearse this opening so carefully, 
and to drill all officers so thoroughly, that every- 
thing will go forward without a hitch. Very much 
depends on first impressions. Remember that a 
Sunday-school is chiefly a mission-school, and while 
order and discipline must prevail, it must be guided 
with great tact and kindliness. For this reason the 
devotional part of the service will also be planned 
with great care in order that all children may be 
impressed with the sacredness of the Word of God 
and with the privilege of taking part in lessons 
where it is taught. 

For the organization of the Sunday-school itself 
and the manner in which it may best be conducted, 
see the pamphlet The Lutheran Sunday-school pub- 
lished by Concordia Publishing House. 

If the work thus begun is tactfully carried 
forward, so that at least some adults of the neighbor- 
- hood become interested, it may not be long before 
regular services with preaching may be inaugurated. 

Our goal is the establishment of a congregation 
with a Christian day-school and with all other in- 
stitutions which make for the most effective church- 
work, 


— 142 — 


Do you realize in what spirit this work must be 
undertaken ? 


IT ean do all things through Jesus, my Savior, 
Wherever He calls me to labor for Him; 

I can do all things, though all my endeavors 
Seem to lack energy, purpose, and vim. 

If He will call me, “Come, work in My vineyard!” 
If He assigns me the work I should do, 

Then I shall go, for whatever befalls me, 

I in my faith must be steadfast and true. 


I can do all things through Jesus, my Savior, 
For in His blood my redemption is found; 
Often as sin and as weakness assail me 

He to His promise of mercy is bound; 
Knowing that nothing but wrath I do merit, 
Still for forgiveness I trustfully plead, 

Since in His righteousness lies my salvation 

If but His message of pardon I heed. 


I ean do all things through Jesus, my Savior, 
Strong in the might from His power which flows, 
Clinging to Him as my Champion and Hero, 
Following on as my pathway He shows. 

Nothing can daunt or my confidence sever, 
Nothing can part me from Jesus, my Lord; 

He will not leave me nor ever forsake me — 
That He has promised to me in His Word. 


I can do all things through Jesus, my Savior, 
Proud both and humble to follow His eall; 
’Twas little children He took to His bosom, 
*Twas little children He praised above all. 

If I can lead little children to Jesus, 

Teach them that in Him salvation they gain, 
Then I am happy, though humble my station, 
Then I am sure I have not lived in vain. 


Thus we heed His injunction to 


“FEED MY LAMBS!” 


ee 


Copyright, 1926, 
by the 
WALTHER LEAGUE. 




















